As If By Magic
by Riza-san
Summary: There is always a reason for why everything is the way it is. But even so, what is that reason? -Complete
1. My Name is Tedahko

A/n: I decided to try something new as I normally write fics for ADJL. Since I love the Animorphs series I decided to give this a go. This fanfiction takes place before they are living in the woods but after the whole David incident. Maybe about book 33? Ok, well enjoy.

**Usual disclaimer stuff,**

**Animorphs is copyright KA Applegate.**

**As If By Magic**

Chapter 1

My name is Tedahko.

Just Tedahko. Please, don't ask. My parent's had interesting tastes in names. I could tell you my whole life story, but well, to be quite blunt you wouldn't believe me. So I'll just say this: You think this world is an interesting place? Environment, culture, history and science. This world has a lot of stuff to be interesting for. But there are some things beyond ordinary people's understandings. Some things that nobody would believe. Some things people would lock you up in the nut house for if you ever claimed it. And, I guess that's ok. Maybe humans just aren't meant to know these details. Maybe it's better if they are never known. And alas, it might stay this way for eternity.

I had just arrived in town. The town where an old family friend was who would take care of me until I sorted stuff out. Both my parents were now dead. It's a long story and I don't really like to talk about it. I guess I have always been a sort of loner. I jumped out of the taxi, paid the driver and took my suitcase out of the boot. The taxi drove of and I dragged my heavy suitcase to the door and pushed the doorbell.

I waited patiently for about ten seconds. The door opened and there stood a boy about my age with browny-blonde hair.

"Hello Tedahko. Long time no see," the boy said.

"Hello Erek," I said. Erek was exactly how I remembered him when we played together as little kids. My mother and his father knew each other and were quite good friends. Erek opened the door for me and offered to take my suitcase. I agreed and Erek lifted the suitcase up with no trouble at all. I looked at him wide-eyed. I couldn't even drag the suitcase along the ground, let alone lift it.

"I'll show you to your room" Erek said. We went up the stairs and into a room with a single bed, wardrobe and mirror.

"It's nothing fancy but its still Ok right?" Erek asked me.

"It's fine Erek," I said as I sat down on the bed and began moving in my stuff.

Erek nodded, "Ok, I'll just go and let dad know you're here." I went over and looked at myself in the mirror. I'm a nice looking girl. I mean, I'm not beautiful but not ugly either. I had short messy brown hair with streaks of red through it and brown eyes.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and stopped looking at myself in the mirror and continued to unpack my stuff. Erek knocked on the door and cautiously poked his head through.

"Ok. Dad knows you're here now. Let's get ready for school."

Argh, I had forgotten how early in the morning it was. It seemed midday already, but it was only 7:00am. I let out an unenthusiastic moan and began packing my books into my bag. Erek wasn't going to the same school as me so I had to spend my first day alone. What a horrible day this going to be.

**&**

I walked down the hallway and crammed my books into my locker. I was already beginning to feel lonely. Though I had only been in town a few hours, I was now in the place I least wanted to be. School. An African-American girl and a blonde haired girl walked up to were I was at my locker.

"Hello, are you new?" the African-American girl asked.

I nodded, "Yes, it's my first day."

"I'm Cassie and this is Rachel."

The girl who I presumed was Rachel said hello.

"Hi," I replied back. People here were making an effort to make me feel welcomed. I appreciated that.

The bell rang and I went into English class which I had with Cassie. The class room wasn't too crowded, just scattered with a few students. The teacher came in to read out morning notices.

"Good morning class. We have a new student today," he said. He signaled me to come out the front.

"This is Tedahko. She moved here from up the coast."

The class muttered a mix of groaning and hello and I went to take a desk beside Cassie. Just my luck, I accidently knocked my pencil off my desk. A Hispanic boy who was sitting at the desk next to me picked up the pencil and put it back on my desk.

"Don't need to thank me, I know, I am just plain wonderful," he said cockily, "I'm Marco."

"Tedahko," I greeted. Well, he was sure of himself. I smiled at just shook my head at his so called wonderfulness. The teacher now began blabbering on about how we had an English project to start on and he would be choosing partners. I got put with this kid called Phillip who was for some unknown reason was eating, or at least attempting, to eat a pencil. Wasn't quite sure I was pleased about that. Something seemed a bit off about the Phillip kid.

Second period was science. We didn't have much work, just watched a movie and wrote down notes. I was in this class with Rachel, Marco and the pencil-eating kid Phillip. Marco made lame jokes about the movie (or rather documentary because it was scientific) Rachel threatened to punch Marco's face in and Phillip kept on complaining that every theory in the movie was incorrect. Yeah, sure. This from a kid who eats pencils.

At Lunch I was invited to sit with Rachel and Cassie. I was glad they were treating me friend even though they had only known me a matter of hours. I was never really close to anybody at my old school. I had Erek as a friend, but that was about it. I always felt there was something strange about Erek though. He seemed to act a lot older than his age.

We sat quietly at the lunch table while eating our food.

"Sooooo…" Rachel spoke up. Cassie looked up from her food tray nonchalantly.

"What sort of things you into Tedahko?"

"A variety. I like shopping."

"Really? Me too!" Rachel said grinning a beautiful smile. Rachel looks like one of those cover girls you see on magazines.

"Do you do gymnastics?" She asked.

"Not gymnastics, but I know kung fu and have a black belt in karate."

Rachel looked at me in awe, "Wow, something tells me we are going to be good friends."

Cassie laughed, "Rachel and a girl who has a black-belt. Nothing good can become of this."

Our conversation was interrupted by a loud bang across the lunch room. A rather big kid, that sends of an 'I'm-a-bully' vibe had Phillip pinned up against the wall. A brown haired boy whom I didn't know and Marco rushed over.

"Hey dude, what's your problem?" Marco demanded.

"This punk thinks he can just take my lunch off me!" the guy said, "and I'm about to prove him wrong."

I wasn't to happy about anybody getting pounded in. I didn't really like violence. I focused my mind on the bully. I recited the words and over in my mind.

WHAM! The Bully flew backwards through the air and flipped back over a lunch table. Phillip, Marco and the other kid stood there just staring with open mouths, having no idea what had just happened.

_So my name is Tedahko;_

_And I am the last user of magic on earth._

**A/n: Yay! Chapter one is done! Should I continue on? Any ideas on what should happen in the next chapters are very much appreciated.**

**Hope you're enjoying the story. Review please! It makes the world go round.**


	2. UFOs in the Sky

**A/n: I would just like to say thank you to all the people who have given me tips. I know my writing isn't perfect but I still try my best. Yes, I have a few things I need to improve on and every time you see a mistake please feel free to point it out. I actually wrote half of the next chapter yesterday but after seeing the reviews I decided to scrap and re-write. I'll make Erek transfer schools if that makes you happy, I can't really remember if he went to the Animorph's school or not. Unfortunately I still haven't read the entire series though I know what happens in the end. The good thing is my grammar and punctuation has improved dramatically since I joined Fan . Heck, you should see my first story I wrote. My poor reviewers. I look back on the text and feel disgusted with myself. One more thing. I'm sorry if the characters seem a bit OOC. Let's hope I get better at this.**

_**Disclaimer:**_

_**I don't own Animorphs. **_

_**Animorphs is copyright K.A. Applegate**_

_**Keys**_

_**( and ) equals thoughtspeak/thoughtspeech or whatever it's called.**_

Chapter 2

Jake's P.O.V

My name is Jake. You know the drill. I can't tell you my last name or where I live or they will find us. Who? The Yeerks. I've explained it before, so I'm not going to again.

"Ok, so this guy has Ax pinned to a wall then BAM! The guy flies backwards through the air. How is this possible?"

Everyone looked at each other awkwardly. It was after school at Cassie's barn. We thought that whatever happened today didn't seem normal and that it called for a meeting.

"Well?" Marco questioned, tapping on his knee impatiently. Everyone automatically turned to Ax, as he was our specialist on all things scientific and alien.

(I am not sure,) Ax admitted, (It was certainly very unusual. There did not appear to be any strong air force sufficient enough to carry a human.)

(Well, that's disturbing,) commented Tobias from his usual perch in the rafters.

"Yeah. People just don't go flying through the air," Rachel said.

"Like seriously? After the night we met Elfangor you'd think we would be use to this," Marco said,  
"nothing surprises me any more."

Rachel pinched Marco really hard.

"OUCH!" Marco yelped.

"What were you saying Marco?" Rachel asked, her face showing a devious grin.

"Okay, so we can all agree this definitely wasn't normal," I said, getting back to the topic. "What was different from this day than any other day?"

Cassie had been really the quite the whole conversation as she was trying to bandage a wing of a goose but she finally spoke up.

"There was a new girl," She said, "Tedahko I think…"

"Oh yeah, Tedahko," Rachel said.

"Was there anything not quite right about her? Anything she said that was slightly the most weird?" I asked.

"Well, she apparently knows kung fu and karate."

"Wow, you must be happy," Marco said. Rachel ignored his comment.

I sat down on a bale of hay. "I don't know. I'm out of ideas. Maybe the Yeerks know something?"

"But what would be the point?" Cassie asked, "Why would they bother on making the school bully fly backwards over a table?"

(And then there's the matter of how,) Tobias added.

"If you asked me this whole thing sounds bizarre," I said, "Okay, here's what we'll do,"

"Oh boy," Marco said, rolling his eyes.

"We'll keep a look out for any unordinary things. Also, it might be best if we keep an eye on this Tedahko girl, even though she proabibly doesn't know anything."

Everybody agreed on this plan so we all went our separate ways for the afternoon.

&

Tedahko's P.O.V

I finally arrived back at Erek's house after spending most of the afternoon walking around the mall. I wasn't looking to buy anything really; I just wanted to have a look around town.

I guess I should proabibly explain who I am. I am the last user of magic on earth. Unicorns, trolls and so on died out a very long time ago around the medieval period. You're proabibly think I'm crazy right? I guess if I told anybody this they'd think I was crazy. Some people would call me a modern day witch. That isn't exactly right. You see, many people these days still practice witch craft while I don't. That's what makes me different. I can use magic raw, having no use for making potions since I already possess the magic.

Anyway, I had just finished browsing around the mall and approached Erek's house. I didn't bother knocking. I was going to be living here for at least a couple of months anyway. Erek was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"Hi Erek," I said as I slumped my schoolbag down on the ground. Erek look backed at me from his spot on the sofa.

"Oh, hi Tedahko. Didn't hear you come in."

I walked over to the sofa to sit next to him and watch TV. I couldn't notice he seemed a bit worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing," he replied.

"Don't go nothing-ing me. What's up?"

"My school burnt down."

I looked at him, not knowing whether he was serious or not.

"For real?"

He nodded, "Yes. It has been on the news. I'll be attending the same school as you from now on."

"Okay. Sounds good. I mean, not because the school burnt down. It's just it gets pretty lonely at my school."

Erek smiled, "Well, you won't be lonely much longer."

He got up and walked over to the phone.

"By the way we're having Pizza tonight as dads at work. What do you want?"

If I remember correct Erek was vegetarian. I didn't want to offend him, as I knew he didn't like it when any animals were slaughtered. So, I made the wisest choice I had all day.

"Vegetarian please," I said.

Erek laughed, "Still remember I don't eat meat, I see."

I returned his sentence with a smile. Erek began dialing on the phone and began the process of ordering Pizza. I walked up to my room and began working on my English project. Something told me this Phillip kid wasn't too bright and that I may as well do the work myself.

It was about an hour later when the pizza FINALLY arrived. I went down the stairs to see Erek heading for the door, muttering something about bad service as he went. I sat down at the table and waited for him to bring the pizza over. Erek sat down in the seat opposite to mine and opened the pizza box.

"Is that… vegetarian?" I asked. The pizza looked like cardboard dough with some green slop on top. Erek poked the pizza with a fork cautiously.

"I think so. At least I hope so."

We both laughed nervously and took a piece of pizza. It tasted, well… funny. So we forgot about dinner and just threw the pizza out. We went back to watching TV again.

"So," Erek said, "How are you enjoying this town?"

I shrugged, "its ok. It'll take a while to get use to it."

"I'm… sorry about your parents by the way." I could tell he didn't want to bring the subject up, but he must have felt he had to say something.

"Thanks. I'm getting over it… slowly."

Erek gave me a small, sad smile and put his arm around my shoulder. His arm felt surprisingly heavy.

"I still don't understand that night. I still don't understand what happened," I said.

Erek nodded, "I don't either."

He began speaking again, "Why don't we go for a walk huh?"

"At this time?"

"Well, why not?" he asked.

"Ah, fine," I agreed.

I ran upstairs quickly and grabbed my coat. We then began to head down the road. It was late now. The sun was setting upon the horizon, illuminating in colors of red and gold. The air was crisp, cold. I honestly didn't know how Erek did it. He wasn't wearing a jacket or anything and yet he seemed perfectly warm.

We came to a park. There seemed to be some kind of barbeque going on there with lots of stalls and tents. A giant banner hung from one of those tents, flashing the words 'The Sharing.' I had heard about The Sharing before. Apparently some kind of Girl and Boy Scout thing. To be honest I wasn't really into 

it. I guess I'm too much of a loner. Family and friend barbeques don't really amuse me. Maybe because I don't have much family or friends.

We went off to the side to sit near a tree. A dog approached Erek, sniffing him curiously.

"Hello there," Erek said, scratching the dog behind the ear. Erek had always liked animals. Especially dogs.

I smiled and gave the dog a pat on the head. The dog ran off all of a sudden as a man in a suit with funny brown hair approached. I recognized him as Principle Chapman.

"Hello Erek," he said, "And who might this be?"

I guess I couldn't have expected him to know who I was. There were after all a lot of students at my new school.

"Tedahko Sir," I replied.

"Please, call me Chapman," he insisted, "We're just about to play some fun games inside the tent. Would you care to join us?"

I was about to reply when Erek cut me short.

"Uh, we can't. We're just here for a short visit." He directed his gaze towards me.

"Isn't that right Tedahko?"

I guess we couldn't stay long. It was pretty late. And besides, the mosquitoes were starting to come out.

"Yeah! Short visit," I said, "Maybe next time."

Principle Chapman gave a look of something mixed with anger and disappointment. He shot Erek this very ticked off look and walked off.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Huh? About what?" Erek replied.

"Chapman shot you a dirty look," I said, "Didn't you see?"

Erek shrugged, "I guess not."

Something about this worried me, though I had no idea what. I dismissed it. Maybe Chapman did it by accident. Who really knows?

Erek and I walked to the other side of the park and sat in the long, over-grown grass. The stars sat gently on the sky, like diamond-like needles stuck on a layer of black cotton. The wind rustled through the grass.

"Beautiful night isn't it?" I said.

"Yeah it is," Erek agreed.

I looked up at the sky. It was beautiful. It was a mystery.

"Huh?" I yelped out suddenly. I could have sworn I saw something there. Something was moving. It wasn't like a plane. It was a different shape.

"Erek? Do you see that?!" I questioned, pointing towards the thing in the sky.

Erek looked up and stared at the sky, "See what?"

I looked up again. Whatever I had seen, it was gone now.

I laughed to myself, "It was there a minute ago. Funny, if I didn't know better I'd say it was a UFO."

Erek smiled, "Honestly Teh, you haven't changed a bit. You and you're imagination."

We both laughed and decided to walk back to Erek's house. On the way back Erek looked concerned. Or maybe he was just tired. I definitely was and I couldn't wait to get to sleep. We walked back into Erek's house. His dad was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"Where have you been? Its way past your bedtime!" he scolded. I guess we had kind of lost track of time.

"Sorry dad," Erek apologized, "I was just showing Tedahko the park."

"Well off to bed now! You have to get up early for school tomorrow." Erek and I both let out an unenthusiastic groan. Neither of us really wanted to think about that. I went upstairs, got changed and went to bed.

&

Marco's P.O.V

I was woken up at 3:00 in the morning by the phone ringing. Seriously, whoever was calling better have a very good reason. I was in the middle of dreaming I was surrounded by all these pretty girls in bikinis who were saying I was the coolest guy ever. Naturally, I had to agree with them.

I picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I asked sleepily, eager to get back to my dream.

"Hi Marco, its Jake."

"Jake man, are you aware of what time it is"?"

"Yeah, sorry to be ringing so late. Cassie wants us to go over to her barn to help out tomorrow morning. Up for it?"

There were certain things we couldn't say over the phone. The lines can easily be tapped into. Jake's brother Tom is a controller too, so we have to be extra careful.

"Yeah sure, can I go back to dreaming about babes in bikinis now?"

"Go ahead Marco," Jake replied.

I hung up and got back to sleep.

It was very early the next morning and we were sitting in Cassie's barn. All of us except Tobias and Ax who were busy finding breakfast.

"Ok, so I get woken up in the middle of the night? What's up with that?" I demand.

"Erek has some news," Jake said, "He'll be here shortly."

"Good news or bad news?"

"Puh-leaze Marco. When is Erek's news ever good?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know, but it'll be a nice change. Face it, the news Erek normally delivers to us ends up in us doing stuff that is totally insane!"

"Oh, quit your wining wuss," Rachel said.

Erek walked into the barn at that moment.

"Hi Erek. How are you?" Jake asked. Silly question to ask an android, but hey, what else was he meant to say?

"I'm fine thanks," Erek replied, "As Jake has proabably already informed you, we have some news."

"What's happened?" asked Cassie.

_Oh, I had a bad feeling about this._

**A/n: Like always, R&R, give me ideas and feel free to correct/criticize. If I make stupid mistakes, I would like to know about it. Oh yes, I especially need ideas on what news Erek is going to give the Animorphs. I haven't really… well… figured that out yet. Heh. **

**I'll update soon. I hope you're enjoying the story.**


	3. Physcos in the Woods

**A/n: Thank you very much for your kind reviews! I haven't written Animorphs fanfiction before and I'm really glad you're enjoying it. I'm having a go at Cassie's point of view. It'll be a bit of a challenge.**

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own Animorphs.**

**Animorphs are copyright of K.A. Applegate**

**Keys:**

**( and ) equals thoughtspeech or whatever you call it.**

Chapter 3

Cassie's P.O.V

We all sat in my barn waiting for Erek to break the news of what had happened. The birds in the cages seemed unsettled, squawking loudly.

Erek took a deep breath. I guess he wasn't really taking a deep breath, just his hologram.

"The Yeerks have bought a daycare center."

There was silence then Marco and Rachel burst out laughing.

"A day care center? And how exactly would that help them take over earth?" Rachel asked.

"Welcome to Visser Three's daycare! Come down to the kiddy pool so we can stick a Yeerk in your ear!" Marco laughed.

Rachel slapped her hand over her mouth. Even Jake was having trouble containing himself.

"I was just getting to that," Erek said. His hologram expressed a look of slight anger.

"This isn't any normal daycare center. The parents of the children who attend are some of the most richest and powerful people in the whole of town."

I snapped my fingers together, "Use the children to get to the parents!"

Erek nodded, "Yes. That's what we think they're up to."

"Okay, but the question is how do we shut it down?" Jake pondered.

"Well," Erek began, "Today is the day of the monthly health inspection."

"I'm thinking that we do the cockroach thing. Try and freak them out a bit," Jake suggested.

"Yes. That would proabibly work. The inspector will come at 4:30 in the afternoon. Now if you excuse me, I have to go off to school."

Tedahko's P.O.V

I waited patiently in the early morning air. Erek exited the barn that he was in. Apparently he had to drop something off there for a friend.

"Okay! Let's head off for school."

The rest of the school day was very, very boring. Nothing that interested me at all. For some reason Cassie and Rachel seemed surprised that I knew Erek. I don't know why. Anyway, there was nothing overly exciting. Oh, except Phillip ate a whole tray of cinnamon buns and that Jake kid muttered something about him never going to school again. I don't know what that was about either. But hey, some things better left unknown. There was also the fact like I felt like I was being watched. By who? Yet another thing I'm unaware of.

Anyway, I was walking back to Erek's house with Erek. It was nice having somebody to show me around town. I mean, Cassie and Rachel seemed pretty nice but I didn't know them that well. I had known Erek since I was in grade two.

"I'm telling you, Miss Thomson has it in for me," I complained, "It's not my fault if I accidentally tripped over her bag! You agree with me don't you?"

"Uh-huh! Yeah! Not your fault at all," Erek said in the most genuine way he would manage. It was nice he was pretending to listen.

"Yes, I know you aren't interested Erek. Thank you for pretending to be," I said. I let out a small laugh.

"Who? Me? Pretending?" he said, "Why would I be pretending?"

I smiled and continued to complain to myself.

"Mr. Chapman tried to get me into that 'The Sharing' thing again. He doesn't really seem to get the message."

"Yeah about that, please don't join. I know you're not planning to but…"

"Why would you be saying that anyway?" I asked, "Mr. Chapman mentioned you were a member."

Erek let out a depressing sigh, "You'll just have to trust me. Just don't join, ok Teh?" Why didn't he want me to join to badly? He was a member so what was wrong with me being one? To be honest, I wasn't planning on joining. Joining those 'happy groups' would make me feel even for miserable with my own life. I had to face my reality, both my parents were dead.

"Of course not," I replied, "Like I said, I have not intention on joining."

"Thank you," Erek said. A rush of relief swept over his face. Why was he so relieved? What could he possibly be hiding? I've learnt to be too dismissive. I let it go. It did not matter.

I looked at my watch. 4:32. We had been a bit late walking back. We stopped to get ice cream at a nearby convenience store. My ice cream was destroyed by a swooping seagull. Horrible, horrible luck.

We were currently walking passed a daycare center.

"ANDALITES!" a voice yelled from inside the daycare. The fence was a one of that plain thin metal bar ones so I could easily see inside. A crazy lady with a broom was trying to squash something that appeared to be cockroaches. A middle-aged guy with funny glasses was standing next to her. His face displayed a puzzled look.

Both Erek and I stopped dead in our tracks.

"Andalite? What the heck is that?" I said. I examined the insane women through the bars.

Erek seemed very concerned for a reason I did not know of. "Who knows? She's proabibly just mentally unwell Teh."

I shrugged "guess so." I was about to continue walking on when I saw something that was unbelievable. In fact this was unusual and unbelievable. A bird, appearing to be a hawk, swept down from nowhere and grabbed 2 of the cockroaches of the ground and lifted them to safety.

"Oh my god! Did you see that Erek!?" I questioned.

Erek nodded but didn't speak. The lady continued on trying to squish the rest of the cockroaches.

"DIE ANDALITE FILTH!" She spat. Something was not right here. Nothing was not right at all. That bird! It swooped down and... well, I didn't know!

Another man about it his twenties came into the playground with a can an aerosol can. Poor cockroaches. I mean, I didn't like cockroaches that much but I didn't think any living creature deserved to die. It wasn't the cockroaches fault that they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I could save them… if I just…

"_No!_" I thought to myself "_You can't. If anybody discovers who you are, what you are you you'd be better off dead. _What was I thinking? Was I going insane? I couldn't. I couldn't sacrifice my self for a bunch of insects!

"We have to do something," Erek said. His voice was in a whisper.

I looked him straight in the eye, "What are you talking about?"

The man was spraying the aerosol can like crazy now. Some of the cockroaches' bodies had gone limp. Well, I had no chance of saving them now. They were already half dead. Why had Erek whisperedthat to himself? I didn't know he cared that much about bugs either. Something about this wasn't right. I wasn't seeing the big picture. What was happening?! Why was I panicking?

I acted of a bizarre impulse that was nagging me in my own mind. I didn't know why I had chosen this choice. Was it right or wrong?

I repeated words, not of any language, over and over in my mind. More like feelings than words actually. Indescribable repeated words. I locked my eyes, my focus on the cockroaches.

Up they flew! Over the fence and swooped up by the red tailed hawk. Great, wasted efforts. The hawk would proabibly eat them. Not that I was aware of the diet of a hawk. I just presumed the obvious. Erek quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me off. I nearly fell over and the alarming speed he had yanked me away at.

"Erek? What's the deal?" I questioned. He was acting more weird than usual.

"Nothing," he said. I saw hesitation in his voice. We walked quickly down the street. His hand was too strong, I couldn't release mine from his grip. That was funny; I should have been able to. But I couldn't. This day didn't make sense.

"Come on, dads proabibly wondering where we are."

I sighed and gave into this. We walked back to Erek's house. For the next hour I did some of my mathematics homework. I may as well get on the good side of Mrs. Thomson. Erek spent the next hour doing the same though he did make a phone call to a few people and retreated to his basement to sort out sort out a few things. Besides it starting to get dark, I decided to go for a walk. Just by myself. Erek was obviously to busy to join me and I thought he might like some time by himself. Personally I was hoping he hadn't seen the cockroaches fly like that. Maybe he thought it was the wind. Yes, just hope he thinks that.

I decided to choose a different destination of walking this afternoon. The park seemed boring to I took to a new, exciting place with no path or track to follow. The woods.

There was the possibility of physcos hiding in the woods, but I wasn't really worried. I could fend for myself. If they came near me I would either nail them to a tree or make them fall unconscious by using a different form of magic. Never was I suppose to use my magic for selfish purposes, I knew that. But I guess if it's to save your butt from weirdos hiding in woods, it'll be perfectly fine.

I walked a long through the woods, happily humming to myself as I walked along. It was a beautiful afternoon, not a cloud in the sky. The noise of birds chirping was quite loud. I wonder how many species of birds lived in the woods? Judging by the racket, many. I looked up into the sky and froze. A hawk! But the same one from earlier? I shook my head. Why was I being so jumpy, so suspicious? I kept walking along through the woods. It felt good to breathe fresh air through my lungs. Heck, it felt good to be alive.

I paused. I heard a rustle of bushes. I swiped around quickly just to see a flash of blue. No longer did I feel safe in the woods anymore. Someone, something was watching me.

"_Snap out of it Tedahko!" _I scolded myself, "_This isn't some horror movie."_

I felt instant curiosity. I mean, the blue thing, whatever it was, had run away from me. Why not chase after it? Not like any harm would come. I was one of the last users of magic on earth! It wasn't going to harm me.

I started to walk in the direction I had seen the blue thing, trailing further and further of into the woods. I could always find my way back. It didn't concern me. I had magic I could use.

I pursued the chase further and further until I came to a small clearing.

"What the?" I said to myself. Near a tree was a variety of stuff gathered together, including a TV set. Wow, physos must be living in the woods! There was such a wide variety of, well, useless junk.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. Foolish of me. I heard a swift noise from behind me and felt something press up against my throat. Cold.

_(Don't open your eyes human. Who are you?)  
_

**A/n: This chapter wasn't perfect but I appreciate any reviews and tips. Even criticism is welcome. Reviewing makes the world go round. I shall update soon!**


	4. Running for Dear Life

**A/n: Sigh. No matter how hard I try every piece I compose still has errors. I picked up a lot in the last chapter. Nevermind, I'll go back and correct them soon. Thank you for pointing out many of the stupid mistakes I have committed. About the random boxes which keep on popping up everywhere. I can't see them. I'm not sure if it's to do with internet explorer or what, they aren't appearing on my browser. My friend who was reading my story also complained about them. Like I said, I honestly have no idea. Maybe it is a good idea to add symbols between the point of views. It would certainly make it less confusing. **

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own Animorphs, for it is copyright of K.A. Applegate.**

**Keys:**

**( and ) equals thoughtspeech. Or whatever it's called.**

Chapter 4

Tedahko's P.O.V

I froze. To scared to move. To scared to blink.

(Do not make me repeat myself human. Who are you?)

Oh my god! Oh my god! The voice! It was in my head! Why did I have to take a walk in the woods? WHY?!

"I… I…" I stuttered. The sharp knife or at least it felt like a knife, pushed further against my throat.

(Answer me!)

I was horrified. What was happening? Had I lost all of my sanity? I was hearing voices in my head for crying out loud.

"_Magic!" _I thought to myself, _"I can use magic to get myself out of this mess."_

I quickly repeated the words in my mind. Very, very quickly for I wasn't to keen on this telepathic axe murderer to slit my throat. I focused. More focus that I had ever had in my life.

(Ahh!)

I quickly opened my eyes. I saw something that at first glance I thought it was a centaur that was standing on the other side of a clearing. Three emotions I clearly felt at the moment. One, I felt pride in myself for being able to move something that far away with my mind. Two, I felt curious because centaurs had supposedly died out before the medieval period too. And three, I felt well and truly horrified because I realized that it wasn't a centaur. Let's face it. Centaurs aren't blue, don't have tails with sharp blades on the end and don't have eyes planted on stalks which sit upon there head.

And then, I did the wisest thing I could have done in this situation. I ran for dear life. Back I ran, through the trees and shrubs as fast as I could. I heard the sound of galloping behind me. I muttered something not exactly repeatable to myself as I then realized I was being chased after. The sound of galloping was coming close. Oh crud! It was gaining on me! Is it too late to apologize?

Coming to the conclusion that I would have been caught sooner or later I ran up a tree. Not did I dare breathe when up in that tree. I stayed as still as a rocked, just having to hope that whatever that thing was it would lose interested in chasing me.

The blue centaur, which I was hundred percent sure wasn't a centaur now, stopped not far from my tree. He looked around. I nearly fell out the tree. It had no mouth.

"_Shut up Tedahko!"_ I thought to myself. I gave myself a mental slap on the face so I would be quite. A hawk flew just behind the creature and landed on its shoulder.

(Who was she?) A new voice asked. Again, I had to mentally slap myself across the face.

(I recognize her from school,) the blue centaur said, (I believe her name is Tedahko.)

Oh crud. Oh crud. Oh crud. It knew who I was. But how? Why? I remained silent, despite panicking and debating thoughts back and forth within my mind.

(There appeared to be some unusual gravitational force which pulled me away from her,) the blue centaur said.

(Yeah, I saw. Think she was a Yeerk?) The other voice questioned.

(I do not know,) the blue centaur said, (If she was a Yeerk she would have known better to have moved.)

(We'll talk to Jake and the others about it. Come on, let's go back.)

The hawk and the blue centaur left, walking back into the woods. Once I was sure they were really gone, I jumped out of the tree and ran for my life. My heart was pounding fast. Never ever again would I go in the woods! Never! This experience had made me lose my love for trail walking. I sprinted as fast as I could all the way back to Erek's house. It was fairly dark now. I was estimating about 6:00pm.

I ran to the front door, dashed in and slammed it shut behind me. I leant against the door and fell to my knees, trying to catch my breath.

"Tedahko! Where were you? I was about to go out looking for you."

I looked up from the ground and saw Erek standing there. Erek figured that for some reason I wasn't able to talk and didn't leave me time to answer that question.

"Are you ok?"

I was still too out of breath to speak so I shook my head, indicating that I certainly wasn't. Erek put his arm around my shoulder and helped me stand up. Again his grip was strong. Even if I tried I couldn't have released myself. He led me over to the couch.

"I'll get you a glass of water. Hang on," he walked over to the kitchen, poured me a glass of water and returned. I gratefully took the glass, though I was still too out of breath to say thank you. He sat down next to me and examined me. Erek noticed a small gash on my neck which was bleeding.

"Who did this?" he demanded.

The water had helped and I now thought I might be able to manage to speak.

"If I told you'd think I would have gone insane," I said.

He shook his head and gently put his arm around my shoulder to comfort me.

"I won't. I promise."

I took a deep breath.

"I was walking through the woods. This thing, in fact it looked like a blue centaur, came up behind me and held something sharp at my throat."

Erek paused and widened his eyes.

"You don't believe me do you?" I asked.

"No, no. I believe you," he reassured me. He sighed, "I'm sure he wasn't planning on killing you."

"Oh, I think he would of liked to kill me," I said, "In fact I would of never escaped if I didn't use ma-" I cut myself off.

"Didn't use what?" Erek asked.

"Nothing," I muttered, "Point is, I had to run for dear life and no way in hell am I ever going near those woods again."

Erek nodded, "Fair enough. Listen, I have to go out to talk to a few people. I'll be back soon ok?"

I didn't want Erek to leave. To be honest, I felt safe around him.

"Ok, don't be too long," I said. Erek left the house. I didn't know why he was going out at this time. I guess it was his business. Then it occurred to me. What if the centaur knew who Erek was? What if it would chase after Erek too? I felt a scared, worried feeling pierce into my heart. I had to do something! I could follow him I guess. Yes, that would be a good idea.

I ran up to my room quickly and grabbed a black hooded cloak. My mother had handed it down to me. It wasn't an ordinary cloak; it could make me turn invisible. I had decided if I was going to watch over Erek, I was going to do it without him knowing I was doing it. I was being over cautious. I knew that. I also grabbed to small bladed knives. If my magic failed, I would need an alternative. I wasn't to risk Erek getting hunted down like I did.

I rushed out the front door and activated the cloak. It didn't change the perspective I saw in. I could still see perfectly fine. Just other people couldn't see me. Erek walked over to a pay phone and I slowly followed. He inserted a few coins and typed in a number. He tapped his foot and waited patiently was the person on the other line to pick up.

"Hi Jake, it's Erek."

Pause.

"Nothing much. I need to talk to you and the others at Cassie's barn ASAP."

Pause.

"Ok, that's fine. I'll meet you there." Erek hung up the phone and began walking down the street with me following him not far after. I wondered if the Jake was the same Jake from school. Then again, I guess Jake is a really common name.

I followed Erek until we came to a house with a barn at the back. We had been here this morning so Erek could drop something off. I remembered he had said 'Cassie's barn' when talking to Jake. I wondered if Cassie from school lived here.

I followed him into the barn, being careful not to make much of a racket on the way. It was important that nobody knew what I was doing. Especially Erek because I didn't want him to be angry at me for following him. Then there was the issue of how to tell him that magic existed.

As soon as I had entered the barn I realized there was a group of kids sitting there. Even more disturbing I recognized these kids. Jake, Cassie, Marco and Phillip.

--

Jake's P.O.V

We were sitting in the barn when Erek walked in. Apparently something had come up and he wanted to talk to us about it. None of us felt like doing anything after earlier. I was almost going to tell Erek to go away because we really weren't in the mood. But we had to. We didn't choose to be in this war, yet we fight all the same. It's how things are.

I felt a bit jealous of Rachel because she couldn't come. She had family matters, as she had promised to take her little sisters to the movies. Anyway, we were all sitting in the barn and Erek walked in. Tobias was sitting in the rafters and Ax was in his human morph. We risk him being seen since Cassie's parents were home.

"Hi Erek," I greeted.

"Hi Jake," Erek replied.

"What's up?" asked Marco, "Want us to go on another insane mission than involves us almost getting killed?"

"No mission," Erek replied.

(That's a relief,) Tobias said from up in the rafters, (that guy sprayed bug spray in my eye.)

"I'll have a look at it later Tobias," Cassie promised. Right now she was attempting to give a very angry skunk a shot.

"Anyway," I said, "What's happening?"

"Well," Erek began, "My friend Tedahko got a bad scare in the woods today. Apparently a blue centaur put a blade on her throat."

Cassie put the skunk back in its cage and listened intently. We all looked at Ax.

"I am sorry," Ax said, "I did not know Tedahko was a Chee. Cheeee-EH! EH! Cheeeee."

"She isn't," said Erek.

"Then what's the problem?" Marco asked, "Ax-man probably just thought she was a controller."

"Yeah, I know," Erek said, "Listen, Tedahko hasn't exactly had an easily life so just be careful around her. She was horrified last time I say her."

"I do apologize Erek," Ax said again, "She was a very puzzling girl though. She somehow made me reposition myself by ten of your earth feet."

"There everyone's feet Ax," Marco said.

"Wait? What did you say?" I asked.

"She made me fly back ten of your earth feet from my first position."

"The guy in the lunch room!" Cassie said as she clicked her fingers together.

(And the flying roaches,) Tobias joined in.

"Erek, is there anything about Tedahko that doesn't seem human?" I asked.

Marco was growing restless and decided to kick the air randomly.

"Ouch!" a voice yelped

"Oh --" Marco said as he bounced around on one foot which he had hurt by kicking air.

"Shit-AH! Ah shi-tah! That is a very pleasant mouth sound," Ax repeated.

"Ax!" scolded Cassie.

(We're being watched!) Tobias said.

Where Marco had kicked a figure appeared in a long black hooded cloak appeared.

"Ax! Demorph!" I ordered, "Marco, guard the door."

The person in the cloak backed up against the barn wall as Ax began to demorph. The person withdrew two knives from the back pockets of the cloak and held them confidently in front of them.

Flash! Ax's tail struck. The person was faster than we had thought. Her knive and Ax's tail blade clashed. She ducked, rolled, flipped and pushed Marco out of the way of the door and made a run for it.

"Battle morphs!" I commanded, "We can't let her get away."

We all morphed into our battle morphs except Marco who chased after the person instantly so we wouldn't lose sight. **(A/n: I suck at the morphing scenes. I would like tips on this if you can offer it.)**

We ran after them through the night until all of a sudden they disappeared. We continued looking, but it was no use. Whoever it was, they were gone now.

--

Tedahko's P.O.V

I ran as fast as I could back to Erek's house. When Marco kicked me he somehow temporarily stuffed the properties of the cape. I had to make a dash for it. I now also knew that Phillip and the blue centaur are the same. Somehow… I had also been chased by a variety of big animals. I could hear there voices in my head. Something wasn't right. Kids that can turn into animals? And what did Erek have to do with all this? I couldn't think straight.

I ran straight back to Erek's house and into my room. I stuffed the cloak in the wardrobe, turned off the lights, and hoped into bed. As far as anyone had knew, I would have been sleeping this entire time.

Not ten minutes later did I hear Erek come back. I heard a gentle tap on my door.

"Tedahko?"

"Yeah, come in," I said, putting on a fake sleepy voice. Erek walked in and turned on the light.

"How long have you been in bed?"

I yawned, "Not long after you went out. I felt sick. Why?"

"No reason," replied Erek, "Okay, good night." He shut the door and I let out a sigh of relief. I then heard voices in the hallway. Unfortunately my curiosity hadn't worn of. I got up out of bed and peaked curiously through the door. Erek and his dad Mr. King were talking.

"The holographic technology is being glitch again," Mr. King said, "We may have to turn of our holograms while another Chee repairs it. It should only take half an hour."

Erek nodded, "Ok, that's fine." Stands of color flickered around Erek and before I knew it Erek wasn't Erek anymore. Gone were his clothes, his eyes and his face. All replaced with something that looked like a metallic grey hound standing on its hind legs.

And I knew then.

_Erek wasn't human._

**A/n: All done! Yay! Review and criticize everyone. It is very much appreciated.**


	5. Answers

A/n: My story must be a proofreaders dream. Hehe. I shall fix up the errors very soon.

**Disclaimer:**

**Animorphs is copyright K.A. Applegate.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter 5

Tedahko's P.O.V

What is going on? What is happening? Who is Erek? What is Erek? Is he really the same boy I played with when I was young? All these questions came rushing to my head. I was more than confused at the moment. Right now all I wanted to do was to curl up in bed and pretend the current reality didn't exist. I was about to do that, but I didn't get a chance.

Erek, or what now appeared to be a metal greyhound standing on his legs spun around to see my door a little bit opened and me staring out. I quickly shut it and locked it, though I was sure he had noticed. I was a coward, but I didn't see anything wrong with it at the current time. I heard footsteps go down the hallway, closer and closer. I couldn't think straight. I had no escape.

"Uh oh; I think she saw," I heard Erek say.

"Yeah, me too," I head Erek's 'father' say.

There was a knock against the door.

"Tedahko?"

"What are you?!" I replied, slouching further back into the corner of the room.

"Ah huh. She saw."

" I'll explain. Please just let me in."

"So you can kill me Erek? Because I can't handle being killed twice in one day."

"Tedahko don't be stupid. I would never hurt you. In fact, I can't hurt anybody."

I didn't understand what those words meant. In fact, my senses were pretty blurred up.

"_For crying out loud Tedahko! You're the last user of magic on earth and you're scared of some android greyhound," _I scolded myself.

I slowly but cautiously approached the door and unlocked it. I stepped back to be prepared, incase this thing that called itself Erek tried to attack. The door opened and there stood Erek. He looked normal again. Human.

"Am I going insane?" I said aloud.

"No, what you saw was real," he admitted. He turned on the light to the room. He let out a deep sigh.

"I never wanted to tell you this, but looks like I don't have much of a choice." He nudged his head to the side indicating for me to follow. And even though I was scared beyond wits end, I did.

Out of all the places in the world we sat on the sofa. Erek's so called father was busy making tea. However, he didn't look one bit human.

"I think you have already guessed what I am," he said.

I nodded, "An android," I gave a puzzled look, "But why do you look like a greyhound?"

"I was created to look similar to my creators the Pemalites from my home planet."

"Wait – Hold up! Home planet?"

"But of course. We don't come from earth."

I must of looked pale because Erek said, "Are you ok?"

"I just found out my best friends a greyhound android. Do you think I'm Ok?"

He shook his head, "I wouldn't expect you to be."

"I mean, what next? Earth being invaded by aliens?" I laughed nervously.

Erek paused, with an emotionless yet disturbing look on his face.

"Oh god, its not…"

It was Erek's turn to laugh nervously, "Lets save that story for another time." Erek's father was busy singing something in French to himself.

"I didn't know your father spoke French," I commented, mainly to get off the subject of earth being invaded by aliens.

"Of course. He was a doctor in the 1700's in France." (A/N: 1700's right?)

"Erh…" I said.

"Oh, yeah. I'm over 10 000 years old by the way."

I turned pale. As in about-to-pass-out pale.

Erek laughed, "C'mon, it's not like you don't have any secrets of your own."

Erek gave a skeptical look, "Why did you think I was going to kill you anyway?"

"Well, the tiger, the wolf and the blue centaur tried to, didn't they?" Oh crud. Why had I said that?

"So it was you," Erek said in triumph.

"Erek, please don't tell anybody. Especially those kids that turned into animals. By the way, you can explain that later too."

"Fine. But I need to know, why did you follow me?"

"I thought the centaur…"

"His name is Ax," Erek interrupted.

"I thought his name was Phillip?"

"No, Ax."

"Yeah so anyway," I began, "I followed you so I could protect you from him." I knew he was going to laugh.

"Not to make this at all seem sexist," Erek began, "But what would of you been able to do if Ax was some kind of killer?"

"You'd be surprised…" I muttered.

He looked at me expectantly.

"I can't tell you," I said sadly.

He sighed. "Tedahko, I trusted you with my secret. Can you trust me with yours?"

"I…" I began.

He nodded and looked kind of sad. "I understand. You've just found out I'm a 10 000 year old android after all. Take your time. I think you need some sleep."

(A/n: How old is he again?)

"Yeah," I said. I got up from the couch and rubbed my eyes and began to walk upstairs.

"Goodnight Tehdahko."

"Goodnight Erek."

I continued my walk up the stairs but paused to say one last thing.

"Oh, and Erek? Don't worry, you'll find out eventually."

_And Alas I went into my room and drifted off to sleep._

**A/n: I think it's about time I go to bed too. It's late where I am since I live in Australia. Read, review and criticize please!**


	6. Stories

**A/n: I didn't get much writing done this weekend. I had a lot of things to do.**

Chapter 6

How I managed to get to sleep that night, I do not know. No longer did I feel safe here. I sat in bed at midnight, listening to the gentle patter of rain on the roof. Erek's words were still fresh in my mind. He said that he would never hurt me. But how could I trust him? All this time he had been hiding the truth away. In fact, I kind of had done that myself. I had refused to tell him. But if he had any intention of hurting me, why hadn't he done it long ago? There was a question I wondered.

And then there was the whole issue of kids turning into animals. That, I knew, was simply not possible. Perhaps by witches, but the archaic witches had died out long ago. Only modern day witches still existed, and they did not have power great enough to do such a thing. I had presumed to myself that Phillip or Ax or whatever his name is isn't a centaur. Erek had admitted that we were being invaded, but insisted to leave it that story for another night. This could possibly mean that the centaur was an alien. All the same, this scared me. I was so cowardice towards this, I just couldn't believe it. At least Erek had agreed not to tell them I was the one in the barn. He had loyalty, and I appreciated that.

Pretty soon I drifted back off to sleep to the soothing sound of gentle rain. The bed covers were warm, but still somehow I managed to feel cold. Morning came soon enough. There was a tap on the door.

"Tedahko?"

I moaned unenthusiastically, not willing to move an inch from my position.

"Come on, we're going to be late for school!" Erek's voice said from behind the door.

"Fine, hang on."

I got up, had a shower, got dressed and had breakfast. Erek and I sat at the breakfast table, neither of us really wanting to say a word. I wondered to myself if the past few days were just a dream. A nightmare more than a fairytale, that is. I was hoping it was only a dream but I knew it was not.

"So…" Erek began.

I decided to give in to temptation and confirm what I had feared.

"Was last night just a dream?" I asked.

Erek looked at me with a soft but stunned expression.

"That my father and I are a part of a race of androids called The Chee? No Tedahko, that really happened."

I slammed my head on the breakfast table and let out a groan.

"You're not taking this very well, are you?" he asked.

"A lot more unusual things have happened," I commented, "This is just pretty high on the list."

He nodded, "Yeah, I know."

I sighed and lifted my head up from the table.

"Erek, please don't take this personally. You're still my friend; I just have nothing against you. I just didn't expect this."

Erek smiled, "Thanks Teh."

I returned the smile and began looking off into space. My mind drifted back to a long time ago.

"You thinking about the kids in the barn?" he asked.

"Actually, no."

He looked at me expectantly.

"I was thinking about a story mom and dad told me a long time ago. About two beings fighting somewhere in the boundaries of infinity. One good and one evil." I smiled to myself as I remembered the line of the story.

"Of course, it's just a story. I just thought about it then for some reason," I added.

I saw Erek's expression turn to something of surprise and horror.

"For an android you're not very good at hiding expressions," I said, "What's up?"

Erek shook his head, "It's nothing."

He took a brief pause, "How did the story end?"

"They said that it mightn't have an ending. That is might go on forever. She also said that although it might sound strange, the world needs a balance of both good and evil."

I smiled sadly, "Unfortunately I still don't understand that bit."

"Yeah, me too," Erek muttered, "Hey, uh, weird question, do you remember the names of them?"

"I wish I paid more attention honestly," I admitted, "All I remember is there names were very unusual. I think the evil one's name was Crayas or Crayik or something…"

I paused. Erek looked scared. Well and truly scared.

"Why do you ask?" I questioned slowly.

Erek simply shrugged of the expression he had on his face before, "Just curious. Come on, let's head off for school."

&

We walked into the school grounds together. I saw Marco and Jake hanging about a tree. They took the time to stare at me and Erek as we walked by.

"Do they have to stare at us?" I whispered to Erek.

Erek sighed, "For now, just keep quite and don't say anything about it to them."

I didn't reply. I was too busy looking around to find any of the other people I knew. My face lit up as I spotted Cassie and Rachel. Though now I was terrified of Cassie because I knew she was one of the animals chasing me BUT she didn't know that I knew. So everything was going to be fine.

I walked over.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"Oh, uh, hi Tedahko," Cassie greeted. She seemed hesitant for a second but soon snapped out of it. For a scary animal she didn't seem too scary.

"What's up?" Rachel asked.

"Nothin' much," I replied, "What about you?"

"You know me, shopping, gymnastics, that kind of stuff."

We soon headed off inside to organize our books and get ready for class. It was a pretty normal day. Phillip/Ax/What ever his name is meant to be was away. I was glad about that. There was something else that troubled me. Jake and Marco were watching me. Very, very closely.

I even saw Rachel and Cassie take a quick stare. Needless to say, I felt pretty uncomfortable. I tried by best to ignore them. Still, I had to wonder if perhaps that they new I was in the barn or that I had something stuck in my hair. Those were the only reasons I could come up with.

At lunch I sat with Erek instead of Cassie and Rachel. I didn't want to at the moment. I looked glumly down at the cafeteria food.

"Tomato Surprise," I muttered, "Lucky us."

"Yeah, Tomato Surprise gets me in a bad mood too," Erek replied.

I leaned in closer to make sure we weren't being over heard.

"Why did they constantly stare at me?"

"Huh, who?"

Great, he was trying to play dumb with me.

"You know who I mean," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"They just think you might have something to do with… never mind."

"Erek!" I demanded.

"It doesn't matter. They were wrong," he muttered.

I sighed and continued to eat my Tomato Surprise.

&

It was after school and I was getting books that I would need for homework out of my locker. The halls were pretty much empty. I heard the sound of talking from around the corner. I wasn't in a good mood, and decided to go and eavesdrop. I walked up to the corner and listened to the voices, only to find I recognized them.

"So what's the conclusion?" I heard Jake ask.

"She isn't one of them, I've confirmed that," Erek replied.

"What about the 'flying' incidents?"

"I don't know," Erek said, "Those parts are still a mystery. However she did mention something earlier which I found concerning…"

"Like what?"

"Just folklore to her. A simple story her parents told her. However it is very, very accurate to the whole Crayak and the Ellimist situation."

No longer did I feel like listening to them. I walked off down the hall with my bag hanging loosely from my shoulders. I walked out the door into fresh air. I was glad to see open space one more.

"Hey. It's Tedahko right?"

I shot around quickly to see Jake standing there.

"Yeah. Jake right?"

Jake nodded, "That's me."

Awkward silence.

"Just curious," Jake began, "But how do you know Erek King?"

"That's not your concern," I said.

"Ok, I was just asking."

"Please, cut the act kid who can turn into animals, I'm really not in the mood after being stared at me all day."

Jake looked horrified, "Who are you?"

"Like I said, I'm not in the mood. Let me be in peace." I walked off towards some nearby bushes and just left my bag there. Jake was following me, I could see him. I alas performed the only art of shape-shifting I had learnt. I could turn myself into a crow. This didn't change the fact that I was still curious about the kids turning into animals. Obviously they weren't the same as I was. Users of magic. Mom had said I was quite talented to even be able to shape-shift to one creature. Apparently many magic users couldn't shape-shift at all.

_Blue, wavy energy cast itself around my body and I flew off into the sky._

**A/n: I'll try and make the next chapter longer. Read and review please! It makes the world go around. Also, criticize if necessary.**


	7. Flowers in the Meadow

**A/n: I'm tired at the moment, but I'll try my best. I went through my work and proofread. No doubt there are still mistakes.**

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own Animorphs, as it is copyright to K.A. Applegate.**

Chapter 7

To fly away. How many times has anybody wished they could do that? To abandon all your worries and fly alone, with only the blue lake of a sky beside you. That was what I was doing. Turning my back on everything else.

It was a beautiful day for flying. Not a single cloud in the sky. I was but a simple crow alone in the sky above the forest. Kind of funny actually, I had promised myself I wouldn't go back near it. But it didn't matter. I had forgotten myself. Forgotten how much power I had in this world.

I looked out to my left and saw another bird approaching. Oh crud, it was the same one I had seen in the barn, a hawk. Luckily whoever Mr. Hawk was he obviously would just presume I was some ordinary crow.

I saw a small mouse scatter along the ground. If I was truly a bird I might have been interested. But of course I wasn't. I decided to take the risk of landing in the woods and sitting over in a pretty meadow of yellow flowers I had spotted a while back. I headed towards the direction of the mouse, as it was near thick layer of trees which would be the ideal place for me to turn back into human.

I swooped down.

(Uh-uh, no you don't, that's my mouse.)

_GAH! THE VOICE! IN MY HEAD!_

The hawk swooped down, knocking me spiraling out of control.

"What where your going!" I shouted.

Oh. Big mistake. Mr. Hawk just realized he wasn't the only bird who could talk.

(What the -)

Lucky for me, Mr. Hawk got such a shock he flew into a tree. I quickly flew off towards the meadow and turned back to human there. Blue energy revolved around my body, turning me back into a human. I doubted I was being followed. That hawk was probably still face first into the tree.

I looked around the meadow. Beautiful. Yellow flowers swayed gently in the wind. I decided to pick some flowers for Erek. I didn't know if androids liked flowers of not but who really cared? I was meant to meet him outside the school so we could walk home together. Instead, Jake had approached me with 

some pretty straight-forward questions in mind, resulting in me flying off. Needless to say, I felt terrible about leaving Erek there. He was most likely looking for me. And that was the reason I was picking flowers. Hey, I can be a bit rough around the edges, but I can still be a sweetheart.

I hummed to myself a tune as I picked the flowers one by one. My black, long jacket which went down to my knees fluttered freely in the wind.

"_What a wonderful day,"_ I thought to myself. I was dam right too. This day was the best all week.

"Tedahko?"

I zoomed around quickly. I wasn't growing too fond of being snuck up on. There stood a boy in a black leather jacket and browny-blonde messy hair. And as soon as I saw him, I knew I had never seen him before.

"GAH!" I spluttered with surprise, "Please don't do that again."

"Sorry," the boy replied. He fidgeted awkwardly.

"Yeah. Ok. Uh, can I ask who you are? Oh yeah, better yet, how do you know my name?"

"Okay, Okay, I said I was sorry. I'm Tobias."

"Still didn't answer my question Tobias. How do you know my name?

Tobias expressed quite an angry look, "That doesn't matter."

"Oh yes it does."

"No it doesn't."

Tobias paused for a minute. His expression turned something of surprise.

"That voice…" he began, "You were that crow."

"Huh? Crow?" I questioned. Maybe if I pretended I didn't know what he was talking about… hang on, if I was the crow was Tobias the hawk?

Tobias shook his head, "Never mind. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Picking flowers," I explained.

"For anyone in particular?"

His nosiness, if that could even be a word, didn't make me too pleased. I guess he was just trying to make conversation.

"Just for a friend," I replied defensively.

Tobias nodded, "Okay, cool." I went over to sit at the edge of the meadow, hoping to give Tobias the idea that I wasn't in the mood for chit-chat. Unfortunately, he didn't get the message and sat beside me.

"Sooo…" he began, "How was your day?"

A random guy appearing from the woods and asking how your day was. Nothing unusual about that.

"Yeah, it was okay," I muttered.

"Just okay?"

I nodded, "Just okay."

I didn't like this. Not one bit. I had a feeling he was going to try the same thing Jake had done: milk information from me.

"Any reason?"

"Ah heaps. Unfortunately, this information isn't meant to be shared."

"Okay, fair enough."

"Good, glad you have a sense of justice, Mr. Hawk."

"What?!" he questioned, snapping his head around to face me.

I smiled a creepy 'I know who you are' grin. I leaped from current position and ran off.

He chased after me I was very, very fast. And Alas I rose to the sky and headed back to Erek's house.

&

Jake's P.O.V

We had come to the conclusion that something was very, very wrong about this Tedahko girl. I had gone to ask her a question as she walked out of the school doors only to end up as Tedahko running away into a small bunch of bushes. She just disappeared. I examined the area after she was gone. No trap doors, no nothing. However I did find her bag. But why would she leave it there?

Me and Cassie had gone to Erek's house to see if she was there. Erek explained Tedahko was meant to walk home from school with him but never showed up. We sat in Erek's living room discussing the matter.

"Jake, remember she just might be an ordinary girl. She mightn't have anything to do with the Yeerks," Cassie reminded me.

"I have to agree with Cassie on this one Jake," Erek said, "We've known each other since we were little. I never noticed anything very abnormal about her."

"Yeah, well, perhaps she didn't have a Yeerk in her head back then."

"She is not a Yeerk!" Erek shouted. His response shocked me. I didn't expect him to shout like that.

"Listen," Erek said softly, "She knows I'm a Chee, okay. But Tedahko knows nothing about the invasion."

"I know nothing about what?"

We turned to see Tedahko standing at the door, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Hi Tedahko!" Cassie said brightly. She wanted the suspicious atmosphere we were in to be lifted.

"Hello Cassie," Tedahko replied. She walked over to an empty vase and stuffed the yellow flowers which she was holding into it. Her dark hazel eyes locked on Erek.

"Now what do I know nothing about?"

"About the school selling chocolates for a fundraiser tomorrow!" I burst out. Cassie looked at me puzzled.

"Oh, yeah," Cassie led on, "We were wondering if you'd like to help out."

Tedahko shrugged, "Why not."

She walked up to the stairs, "I'm going to my room. Nice seeing you Cassie…" she began "And Jake."

One she had gone up I whispered, "Erek, keep a close eye on her. Tell her nothing about is. Cassie and I have to go."

Cassie and I walked down the street when we were approached by Tobias, who had some rather disturbing news.

&

Tedahko's P.O.V

I slumped down at my bed and looked at the ceiling. Out of breath, tired, exhausted. There was a gentle knock against the door.

"Come in," I said. Erek walked into the room.

"Hi Tedahko. Just wondering why you didn't walk home with me."

"Oh yeah. I'm sorry. I was just being harassed, that's all."

"By whom?" he questioned.

"Ah, well, Jake and a hawk to be exact. Care to explain?"

"Oh gee…" Erek muttered, "I can't."

"You said you'd explain about the earth being invaded by aliens' part, I think kids who turn into animals fit the category."

"I promised I wouldn't," Erek said, "Besides, I think you have some of your own explaining to do."

I got up from my lying position and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Like what?"

"Like how you made things move."

I laughed. "No idea what you're talking about," I lied.

"Short version?"

"Let me ask you Erek, do you believe in magic?"

Erek thought for a minute, "Yes and no."

Our conversation was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Erek exited the room to pick it up and soon returned saying it was for me.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hello Tedahko, its Mr. Crosby your mother's old lawyer."

Oh great, Mr. Crosby. Mind you, he was a good lawyer, I just hoped I didn't have to go anywhere near him again. I don't know, too bright and cheerful. One of those people who makes everyone else's seem totally lame.

"Hello Mr. Crosby," I replied, "What's wrong?"

I presumed something was wrong. It always was when I got a phone call from him. He was so happy-go-lucky.

"Good news Tedahko," he began, "We've found a distant relative of yours living in town."

"Really?!" I asked. I felt excited all of a sudden. I might actually have a real family somewhere here!

"Yes. The person is your grandfather's great nephew apparently."

"What's his name?"

"That's the problem," Mr. Crosby said, "We've had a computer virus been going around, so it will take me a while to find his file. I'll call you when I find it. Okay?"

"Okay."

We both said our goodbyes and hung up.

And I sat on my bed wondering;

_Wondering if I still had a family._

**A/n: It's late where I am and I want to sleep. Goodnight. Read and review please, it brings much, much joy.**


	8. Belonging

**A/n: I spotted lots of spelling errors in the last chapter. I shall go back and correct soon.**

**Disclaimer:**

**As much as I LOVE Animorphs, I don't own it.**

**It is copyright of K.A. Applegate.**

Chapter 8

"What was that about?" Erek asked, re-entering the room.

I shrugged, "I don't know. My Mom's lawyer just thinks he's found a distant relative of mine living in town."

"That's great!" Erek said. I was glad he was being happy for me. Or at least pretending until he could get back to the whole point of the earlier conversation.

"So where were we?" he asked, "Do I believe in magic?"

I nodded.

"Hmmm," he thought for a second, "Suppose anything is possible right?"

"Yeah…" I muttered to myself.

"So? What about magic?"

"Nothing," I said.

"Don't lie to me Tedahko," he said. His eyes met mine and I shrugged back my shoulders a bit intimidated and yet, not.

"Why would I be lying?" I asked.

"I don't know," he admitted, "I know finding out the whole 'Earth is being invaded' thing is slightly weird, but the way you've been acting…"

He shrugged, "I don't know. It just makes me think you're hiding something…"

"You hid from me that you were an android for about 14 and a half years Erek. I should be allowed to harbor secrets too."

Erek sighed, "Fine Tedahko. You've got me. Don't tell me anything if you don't want too. But just so you know for next time… You can trust me. Okay?" He walked out of the room, leaving me with a pain of guilt and something else inside of me.

I knew I could trust him. I had always known it. But when the time came when I thought I could tell him everything, I just couldn't. Couldn't bring myself to do it. I needed an escape. An escape from this atmosphere. I couldn't bring myself to deal with facing Erek for the time being. I picked up my bag from the floor and stuffed twenty bucks in, my hooded cape and my knives and I flew out of the window in the form of a crow.

The sky was dim now. The horizon was painted in magnificent colors of orange and gold. I drifted peacefully upon a thermal. It was such a marvelous feeling to fly. Better than you could ever dream of.

The mall sat in the distance, still crowded with people as much as ever. It was late night shopping night, of course. Suddenly a hawk appeared in the distance. Not really wanting to go down the same path as last time, I landed in an alley way and turned back to human. I then began to make my way over to the mall for some retail therapy with the little twenty bucks I had.

I wanted through the mall nonchalantly, staring at all the boutiques that I pasted.

"Hey Tedahko!"

I turned to see Rachel and Cassie. Rachel had at least a dozen different shopping bags while Cassie only had one. Figures. Rachel, according to Marco, is obsessed with shopping. Cassie on the other hand doesn't enjoy it much.

"Hey, Cassie, hey Rachel," I greeted as I walked up towards them.

"What brings you here?" Rachel asked.

I shrugged, "Just felt like shopping I guess."

"Wanna join us?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel…" Cassie began, "Remember, we have to be back by 6:00?'

"Oh yeah," Rachel said, "Maybe next time huh?"

"Okay, sure."

Rachel and Cassie wondered off, leaving me thinking about what just happened. Cassie had given me a sort of unsure look. Like she was being cautious about what to say around me. That provoked my curiosity once more, but I dare not followed them. I sat on a bench and looked inside my bag. I saw a book there which I didn't remember packing. I took it out and dusted it off. The book was just plain brown, no authors name written on the side. It looked familiar somehow, most likely a story book. Opening it up to look at the contents, I stared at awe.

Well, I had found the story I explained to Erek earlier. I couldn't help but feeling something wasn't quite right about it. Erek seemed worried, scared even when I told him about it. But maybe I was just imaging things.

I looked at the second story.

_The War, _it read. I wondered what it was about. I was curious to say the least. There was weird symbols next to those two words. Maybe like a translation. Though it was no language I had ever seen. I knew then that this book wasn't normal. I could feel some kind of energy vibrating off it. Like it was unnatural. Magical even. I had a bad feeling about this book. But yet it mocked me, daring me to turn the page to the second story. And so I did. I began reading the story in my head.

_Fate turned tables for them on that day,  
walking through a construction site.  
Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe it was destiny.  
But alas they fight on, four kids and a hawk and an Andalite,  
turning into any animal they can touch.  
Fighting against what should of never been,  
But what is.  
_

I stopped reading. This hit too close to home. Four kids and a hawk? And an Andalite? What was that meant to be? Yet it seemed familiar. All of it did.

"It's just a story," I whispered to myself, "It doesn't mean anything."

I looked back down at the page. It was blank. A cold chill went down my spine. Yeah, it was a magical book alright. I quickly stuffed the book back in my bag, not wanting to look at the damned thing again.

"Tedahko?" I turned around. I tend to get snuck on a lot. Guess I'm unlucky.

Erek stood there, watching me closely.

"Oh.. Erek. Hi!" I said, trying to sound pleased.

"What are you doing here? I didn't hear you go out the front door."

"Uh…" I mumbled. I need an excuse. Quick. But all ideas escaped me.

Erek looked away, disappointed, "Don't bother to explain. Just don't do it again okay? I was worried."

He was worried about me? Why? It wasn't like I wasn't going to come back. Still, I felt happy that he was concerned for me. He was the only person I knew which did any more.

"Okay, I won't," I said. I wasn't sure if I could keep that promise.

Erek nodded. "It's getting late. Want to walk home with me?"

I agreed and we both began walking back towards Erek's house. Except Erek kind of got us lost.

"What happened to androids don't get lost Erek?" I asked, laughing mockingly.

"Ha ha, very funny," Erek said, "Just for the record, I don't know. My navigational drive is all messed up for some reason."

I wasn't too happy now, as it was really dark and cold.

"Where the heck are we?" I questioned.

"No idea," Erek admitted.

I looked out around us to see fields of grass.

"Dammit Erek, we're in farmlands!" We hadn't paid to much attention to where we were going. This was what we got for it.

Erek looked around, "Well, that's a stuff up."

There was a big build board sign about 20 feet away reading 'Happy Field Farms.' There was a fruit orchard nestled behind it.

"Atleast we won't go hungry," Erek joked, attempting to light up the atmosphere.

I then saw something which didn't belong in an orchard.

"Oh my god… look!"

Erek looked over to the direction I pointed in. He looked towards the space ship.

"Uh oh…" Erek muttered.

"Is that what I think it is?!" I questioned in a whisper.

"Yeah, now let's get out of here."

"I'm going in for a closer look…" I whispered. I crept forward onto the grass of the orchard.

"Tedahko!" Erek whispered urgently. He tried to grab my hand to pull me back, but something stopped him. Not emotions, it was like it hurt to put his arm out to try and stop me. Erek had said he was programmed for non violence, but I didn't know that it meant every ounce of it.

"Please, don't go out!" Erek whispered after me. I got down to my knees and began crawling.

"Either you can keep telling me not to go or you can follow me."

Erek sighed and got down onto his knees beside me. We crawled up further until wasn't safer to go any more. The ship door opened and out stepped something that looked like a blue centaur. It wasn't the same one than before though, I could tell. A human followed him closely behind, along with a green, tall, inhumane looking thing that looked like a demon.  


"An Andalite?" I whispered to myself, looking at the centaur.

"What did you say?" Erek whispered back.

"Long story short, I found a really creepy book in my bag. It had a story about four kids a hawk and an alien called an Andalite turning into animals. Therefor, I've decided I shall call it an Andalite."

Erek looked at me with awe. I don't think he knew how to reply.

"Visser Three, may I just compliment you again on how excellent this plan was!" the human said.

(STOP YOUR BLUMBERING FOOL! Are the four Andalite Bandits secured in there cells?)

"Yes Visser Three…" the human stuttered. I looked in the distance behind the ship to where the forest met the orchard. A hawk and another kind of bird were sitting in a tree together.

"Oh crud," Erek whispered.

"Spill, what's happening?" I asked. Not that Erek had much of a choice.

"Earth is being invaded my parasitic slugs called Yeerks," he whispered, "And some of those kids in the barn are trapped on that ship."

"Tedahko to the rescue," I muttered with sarcastic joy.

"Huh?"

"Just stay here."

"Wait but what are you -"

I quickly unzipped my bag, put on my cloak and got out my knives.

"Erek, I'll be fine," I whispered, "But just in case I'm not…"

I leant over to Erek and kissed him gently on the cheek. Even though the light wasn't that good I thought I saw Erek blush.

Blue energy burst around my body as I turned into a crow and flew into open air.

(AN ANDALITE BANDIT!) screeched the one referred to as Visser Three. (Kill it!)

The green demon things and the human got out something that looked like a flash light. I didn't take time to figure out what it really was. I flew as fast as I could and just managed to get through the door before some red laser beam could touch my tail feathers.

I flew as fast as I could through the ship, looking for whatever 'Andalite Bandits' were.

Then, up ahead, I spotted a wall of those green demon things. Quickly, while still flying, I turned back to human. The demons seemed slightly puzzled at this and all stared at each other.

I swished my knife forward into the air and a bunch of the demons fell over. It was a kind of magic of course, an easy primitive form however. I ran through the crowd on demons. I made sure my hood was secured so nobody could see my face. Being hunted by aliens for the rest of my life was the last thing I really needed.

Up ahead I saw something that looked like… ewwwww. Just ewwwww. It was the only word I could use to describe it. They looked like mutated centipedes. I ran right through them, holding out my knives to the side so I could slash them. Some of them burst open, a green icky paste coming out. I would of vomited. But I had more important things to do.

I saw a door labeled 'Containment Cells.' That gave me a hunch of some sort that whatever I was seeking, it would be in there.

I opened the door and ran in quickly, being careful to close the door once in. There in the cage was a tiger, a gorilla, a wolf, and a centaur. Or and Andalite or alien. What ever floats your boat.  
They all stared at me silently until the tiger, or at least I think it was the tiger, spoke up.

(Who are _you_?) He asked.

"The person who's gonna save your but from aliens," I said.

(Yeah sure, a girl in a black hood with knives,) the gorilla muttered to himself.

"Do you want to be busted out here or not?" I questioned.

I stood bag, and recited meaningless words in my mind. I had to focus on the lock and open it before the bad aliens caught up with me.

Ching!

The lock opened.

(Yeerk manufactured lock technology overridden,) said a computer voice.

(Stolen Andalite technology…) muttered the Andalite.

(How did you do that?) The wolf asked, in amazement.

They rushed out of the cell quickly. We all took off, stampeding down the hallway. The odd demon and mutated centipede were swept aside into walls thanks to good old magic. We ran out of the ship.

(What!? They've escaped! YOU FOOLS! CATCH THEM!) ordered Visser Three. The demon and the human tried there best, but alas they weren't good enough for animals like this. We ran quickly into the forest until we could run no more. The hawk and the other bird flew close by.

(And who's your new friend?) Asked a voice which sounded male.

(We don't know,) said the tiger.

I started running off in a different direction.

(Hey! Where are you going?) demanded an angry female voice.

"Home. It's late."

(Where will we find you?) asked another voice.

"I'll find you," I shouted back.

I ran and took off my cape eventually when I got to the main street. I saw Erek in the distance walking down the street alone.

"Erek!" I shouted.

"Tedahko?" he questioned. I quickly ran up to him and he hugged me.

"Don't do something that stupid again please," he said, "never ever."

I laughed, "Why, because you're worried about me?"

"Yes, I was."

I had never felt to warm, so safe. I was in his arms once more.

_Except this time I didn't feel scared._

**A/n: I need sleep. I always write my stories at night. Yawn. Most likely a dozen spelling/grammar errors. I'm too tired to proofread right now though. Yup. I want to sleep curled up with my nice, warm electric blanket. Yes, its winter where I am as I live in Australia. Actually, the state I live in is supposed to be hot but I'm freezing my butt off. Brrrr… **

**Read and review please, because it makes me happy. Jumping with joy happy. Yeah, I'm delirious when I'm sleepy.**


	9. Do you Believe in Magic?

**A/n: Tedahko decides to confess. Finally. **

Chapter 9

"Fine, I'll tell you, but I'm saying that you won't believe me."

We were back at Erek's house the same night and I had made an important decision. The question was, would Erek believe me?

"Why wouldn't I believe you, I've seen a lot of things on earth with all the years I've lived on it," Erek said.

"You have no idea…" I muttered to myself.

"Can I guess?" Erek asked.

"Yeah, why not?"

"You're some kind of shape-shifter alien?"

I frowned. "That's the closest you're going to get I suppose." I let out a sigh, "Fine, let's get this over with."

"Ready?"

"Any time you are," Erek replied.

I took a deep breath. This was it. The first person, or well, android that would know who I really was. What I really was. I could imagine him laughing at me or saying I was lying. Trying my best to erase those suspicions from my thoughts, I gained up my courage.

"Thousands of years ago," I began, "humans and animals weren't the only creatures living on earth."

"Yes, of course. There were aliens and androids too." Erek looked and realized I clearly wasn't finished. "Go on…"

I hesitated but alas continued, "Yes, well, these creatures died out, or most did anyway, due to humans killing them and other various acts. And these creatures…"

I paused, "These were what humans would call mythological creatures."

Erek looked blanking at me, "You're kidding right?"

"I'm not finished yet Erek," I said. "Like I was saying, many died out. By the 1800's all that was left was magic users. They unfortunately too began to die out because there was so few. And now…"

Erek looked at me, urging me to continue.

"I am the last one."

Erek looked at me again blankly until it turned into something similar of surprise.

"Woah…" he began, "I didn't see that coming."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me…" I muttered. Why did I tell him? It wouldn't have made a difference.

"Tedahko," he said, giving me a stern looking, "of course I believe you. You're my friend. Why wouldn't I?"

"So you don't think I'm a crazy nut?" I asked skeptically.

"No, I don't," he replied, "And besides, just because I didn't see it in my last 10 000 years of being on Earth doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

"I'll prove it just incase you're being too polite to say you think I'm a nut," I said. Erek rolled his eyes.

"Watch that cup over there," I said. An empty coffee mug sat on the bench. Most likely left there by Erek's so called father.

Erek locked his gaze on the mug. "Okay, now what?"

"Keep on watching," I said. I focused all my energy on the mug. I muttered useless, meaningless words, meaningless jibberish inside my head. In fact, it probably wasn't even jibberish. It was like in some distant reality there was words, although far, far away. All I could hear was the echo.

The mug floated over to me and landed gently in my hand. Erek looked at me, his mouth wide. Or at least the mouth on his hologram was anyway.

"Wow, um okay…" he said. He seemed a bit freaked out, but then again a lot more people would have acted in total screaming and cursing. So I was grateful to say the least.

Erek laughed to himself, "Can you make yourself fly?"

I shook my head, "I can, but it normally results in me passing out. Some weird side effect. I can however shape-shift into a crow."

"Now that's cool," Erek said, "Anything else?"

I put my hand behind my head and gave an embarrassed grin, "That's kinda it. The crows the only one I have learnt. Believe me, hard enough learning one."

"Yeah," Erek agreed, "I guess it would be."

"Listen," I said, "About before…"

Erek nodded, "I know. It was a dying wish. Spur of the moment thing. It's okay; I know it didn't mean anything."

I felt relieved in a way. Not pleased, but relieved. It was an unusual sensation.

"Yeah, that was all," I muttered in agreement. Why did I feel confused? In fact, what really is confusion? What really is speaking? What really is life? Why was I asking myself all these questions?

"Tedahko?" Erek asked.

"Huh?" I said, snapping out of my daydream.

"You seemed zoned out," he said, looking a bit worried.

"Me? Nah, I'm fine," I lied.

"Okay," Erek said, "Now it's my turn to explain a few things."

And that was when Erek told me about the invasion. About the Yeerks. About the four human children, a hawk and an Andalite being the only resistance. It was sad story, they had been fighting all this time. And to say that that Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Marco and Phillip all looked perfectly normal. Well, Phillip wasn't as he tried to eat a pencil. Erek also explained that his real name was Aximilli something a rather, but people just call him Ax. It was so funny, I had been aware of magic and that mythological creatures had once roamed this earth for some time now. And to find out about the world being invaded by aliens, well, it was a shock.

"Something else has been bothering me Erek," I said.

"Mm?" he asked.

"When I mentioned that story. I don't know, you just seemed worried," I muttered.

"I was," Erek said, "It's an entire different story though."

"Yes, I'm sure it is. But since we're supposed to be completely honest here, I'd like you to explain."

Erek looked slightly irritated at this, but then sighed.

"Okay, fine. The story you described, about to forces one good and one evil resembled something that I'm aware of."

"The Yeerk invasion?" I asked.

Erek shook his head and let out a sort of harsh laugh, "The Yeerks and humans are as little as specs of dirt in this war."

"Oh great, another war," I said with no too much enthusiasm.

"Yeah, and entire solar systems rest on this one," Erek said grimly. Erek didn't look like he wanted to talk about this war and to be quite honest I didn't want to know. It was a strong possibility hearing about it would give me nightmares to and that was the last thing I needed.

"I'm tired," I spoke up suddenly, "Goodnight."

"Good night," Erek said.

I walked up to my bedroom, opened the door and turned on the light. My heart nearly stopped beating. I saw a flash of something. Not human, grey, prune like with creepy, beady eyes staring straight at me. It disappeared, but all the same I did what was the most humane thing to do in this situation. I screamed. I also jumped back from shock and flipped over the railing of the stairs. I quickly turned into a crow to avoid hitting my head on the ground below.

Erek ran up from his spot on the couch.

"Tedahko?! What's wrong?"

I landed on the ground and quickly turned back to human.

"There's something in my room!" I cried. Erek ran up to me and put his arm around my shoulder to comfort me.

"What did it look like?" he asked.

"Black, like a prune. Evil energy, I could feel it."

"Drode," Erek muttered angrily, "Come out you filthy creature!"

The only reply we heard was the silence.

"Whatever that thing was its gone," I said, "I can't feel that energy any more." I was very, very scared though. Shaking even. Erek put his arm tighter around me, looking cautiously around.

"Come on, he won't be coming back here."

&

I couldn't believe I even managed to get to sleep that night. For one, I stuck strips with Japanese Kanji symbols on it around my room. They were meant to keep away evil spirits. Maybe I kind of overdid that part. I stuck strips on the walls, floors, bed side table, on my bed and even on my pillow. There was no way that thing – whatever it was – was going to come back now. Erek asked me if I was going to be okay. I said I was, as soon as I added another ten strips. Erek said goodnight and went to bed, leaving me to put more around the room.

Eventually I got to bed, though it wasn't until 12:30. I didn't dream, so I didn't have any horrible nightmare to play over in my mind the next day.

_Sometimes I had to wonder when the nightmares would end._

**A/n: I apologise for this chapter being so short. My free trial of Microsoft office (2007) expired half way through when I was writing this chapter. I downloaded Open Office and tried to copy and paste, but stupid office disabled that feature since my trial was 'expired.' I couldn't be bothered to type up all five pages on Open Office, so I just submitted what I had. **

**And as from my next chapter I shall have a Beta Reader! Thank you very much LuciaBoveri for offering to help me. As you would of guessed, grammar has never been my strong side. I prefer spelling, though sometimes I don't do too well in that eithier.**

**Thanks to all my awesome reviewers, favouriters and alerters (are those even words?) You're comments and tips all make me extremely happy and inspire me to keep on writing.**


	10. To the Principal's Office

**A/n: Behold the thrill of the Beta Read-ness!**

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own Animorphs, as it is copyright of K.A. Applegate. **

**Credit:**** A big thank you to LuciaBoveri for Beta Reading this chapter.**

Chapter 10

Morning – at last it had come. The night had seemed so long, so endless. I had lied in bed sleepless, staring at the ceiling, jumping at every sound I heard. Waiting for that demon I had seem to expect to come back. It never did. Maybe because of all the scripts I had stuck around the room. Maybe because I was going insane and this whole thing was just one big hallucination. But no, surely that was not the answer. Why was I finding it so hard to believe it? Believe that aliens existed and all that I was taught by my parents was only the half-truth? Or were they unaware of it, like me?

There were so many things remained unanswered for me. But then I remembered what my mother had told me when I was little. The words drifted through my mind as if they were being said there and then.

"Some things are better left unknown," she had said. I saw truth in that. I had lived by that moral almost all of my life. But now everything had changed. This war that was going on, the war that was ever so silent as a leaf landing on a ground, was indeed reality. So many people didn't know about it. Even though I could only imagine the consequences of it being revealed at the problems that would be sparked, I knew that one day, at the right time, it should be known. It will be known.

And so here I was now. Morning. Tapping my pencil impatiently on my desk waiting for boring period one to start. Science I think. To be honest I wasn't paying attention to whether it was Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. A matter of fact, I honestly didn't care. My mind was occupied by far greater issues.

"And therefore the answer equals _m_," the teacher blabbered on. I continued to stare out the window, not really caring about science at all.

"Now, who can tell me the different between velocity and speed? How about you Tedahko?"

"Wah?" I gaped, snapping out of my absent-minded window-gazing daydream. The class laughed at this and our science teacher got ticked off.

"I won't tolerate my students staring out the window Tedahko," he said angrily. He clenched his metre long ruler and tapped it angrily on his desk.

"But sir -"

"BUT! I hate that word! But... But... But!" he replied. The class thought the teacher saying the word 'But' repeatedly was highly amusing and all cracked up.

But no one found it as funny as Marco. "Betcha' like that word sir!" he mocked.

"That's it! I've had enough of your behavior! To the principals office!"

I got up from my chair, letting out a "Pfft" sound as I went. Damn science teacher. I bet if he had a demon in his room the night before he would be in the exact same mood.

"Bad luck eh Tedahko?" Marco called out.

"You can go with her Marco," the teacher said.

"But sir -"

The teacher made it very clear and pointed directly to the door. Marco said something under his breath that wasn't polite and walked out to door to where I was standing. He shut the door quickly.

"Sorry," I muttered.

He shrugged, "Not your fault. Mr. Morrison is like that to everybody. Cranky old fart."

I laughed, "Yeah. Besides, I had spent the night placing Kanji Scripts all around my room. Wasn't exactly fun."

He looked at me like I was some kind of weirdo (which I guess in some ways are true) and raised his eyebrow.

"Jeez you're so slow," I said with a laugh, "still haven't figured it out yet."

"Figured out what?"

But by the time he had said that sentence I was already at the Principal Chapman's office. I knocked and waited patiently.

"Come in," the voice (presumably Mr. Chapman's) said. I walked in to see Mr. Chapman sitting at his desk. Hence the most boring speech of my life. Chapman didn't tell me off but instead lectured me about The Sharing and how it helps 'troubled kids' to find there place in life. Chapman also brought my parents into it, saying how there had people there that had gone through the same experience. I swear I felt like pinning that piece of filth to the wall. How dare he bring my parents into this! That low life piece of...

"So what do you think?" he asked, "Its really good fun, and you can meet lots of people you can see connections with!"

_Yeah, _I thought, _It what you mean by good fun is getting a Yeerk stuffed in your ear, then sure._

"Mr. Chapman," I said, trying to fight my urge to pound his head in, "sorry, but I'm just not into that sort of thing. I am already quite aware of my place in this world."

_To take you down, _I thought to myself. I accidentally let a huge grin of satisfaction sweep across my face. I wiped it away quickly, but Chapman had already noticed.

"Why did you just smile?" he asked.

"Erhhh..." I said.

"Boy issues? The Sharing can help with that too!" he replied.

"What the -" I had to stop myself from saying something very impolite. "I have to go." Making a dash out the office door I stood in the hallway.

"That was too weird," I said to myself.

"What was?"

I turned around to see Marco sitting on a chair near the office door, waiting his turn patiently to be scold at.

I shook my head. "Oh nothing! Nothing at all!" Making a very wise move, I made a run for it.

&

Drama. Never my best subject. At least I don't think so. My new drama teacher however thinks I'm pretty good. Of course, I have to think otherwise. This was one of my more favorite classes. Mainly because it isn't as boring as the other classes because Erek is with me.

Our drama teacher, Miss Cruz, was attempting to teach us how to add extra expression into our speech.

Realizing nobody was really interested by this, Miss Cruz moved on to another topic.

"Now class, soon we have an upcoming school play of Romeo and Juliet!"

Oh, how I got ever so bored of hearing that phrase. It seems to be the most over-used play in schools across the globe.

A group of boys high-fived each other.

"But after the 'incident' last year, I shall be picking who plays who," Miss Cruz said.

The boys let out a disappointed 'Awwwwww' sound.

"What's the 'incident'?" I whispered to Erek.

"Trust me," he replied, "you really don't want to know."

"And now to the parts," Miss Cruz said happily. The list of parts was so long it took about ten minutes for her to read through the whole thing.

"And now to the parts of Romeo and Juliet," she said. I yawned, being in a pretty unmotivated mood. I got out my drink bottle and let the cool, clean water flow into my mouth.

"For Romeo we have Erek," she said, "and for Juliet, Tedahko."

I spat out the water.

&

The second time in one day. Good grief. This stupid stuck-up brat of a girl called Britney or something like that started making a big deal about me spitting water all over her. For crying out loud, would I honestly care? Its not my fault if what's-her-name can't get over it.

Anyway, just my luck Miss Cruz had to leave the room to teach another class, therefore leaving us with Mr. Morrison. Drama and Science? Unlikely and unfortunate combination. And of course, since he hates me so much, he had to send me back to Chapman's office.

I walked up, approaching the door. Marco was sitting on a chair next to the door. Obviously Chapman was occupied. I sat down silently next to Marco, praying this whole thing would be over quickly.

"Well well well, back so soon?" Marco asked with his usual sense of cockiness.

"I spat water over that Britney girl in drama. You?"

"Home Economics. I swear, that blender has it in for me," he replied.

Silence.

"I've figured it out," he said. Well, it was about time too. Seriously, it doesn't take that long to figure out who is who. Though he could be a pain, Marco might actually be the smart one of the group.

"You're from Japan aren't you?"

I take it back.

"Uhm..." I said.

"You know, 'cos Kanji is a Japanese dish? Or something?"

"Sure. Whatever floats your boat."

"Next!" a voice from inside Chapman's office called.

"Well, this is my turn," Marco said, "See ya."

"Bye."

Marco walked into Chapman's office.

I waited there patiently there for the next ten minutes. I could here Chapman giving Marco the exact same lecture I had gotten on my previous trip to his office. Of course, there was no way Marco would ever join The Sharing. The idea somewhat amused me really. Two people, mortal enemies standing face to face. Though Chapman doesn't know it. Hopefully it stays that way.

Marco exited Chapman's office, closing the door behind him.

"Have fun," he said. He walked back to his respective class. He seemed slightly worried. Maybe it was because he thought Chapman might persuade me to join The Sharing. Who knows?

Lecture number two. Two for twice as boring. It was all about The Sharing sure enough. He decided to take his time to pick out every fault in my life, shove it in my face, and tell me how The Sharing could help me. I was glad when it was all over.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. I sat with Cassie and Rachel at lunch. I had learned quite a bit about them since I had started sitting with them. Rachel was quite a tough girl who didn't give a dam about what anybody thought of her, yet she was totally glamorous. She could walk through a hurricane and still look like a model.

Then there was Cassie. Rachel's best friend, yet complete opposite. I don't know that much about Cassie. She could be quite sometimes, but seems like a pretty kind person. She was wearing overalls today – covered in bird poop. There was something about Cassie that was slightly unusual though. I can't describe it really. It was just this vibe she gave off. In some ways it didn't seem human, in some ways it did. I was probably just imagining things.

Anyway, I was glad to be sitting with Cassie and Rachel. I wanted to avoid Erek for as long as possible. I didn't really want to come to terms about the issue in drama. Miss Cruz is now on my list. My list of people who annoy me, embarrass me and/or just damn right make my life misery.

Besides, as if I would play Juliet. The role doesn't even suit me. I'm sure Erek would agree. Then there was that kissing scene. Yeah, I can't be Juliet. I mean... I can't kiss Erek! He's my friend. I can't...

"Tedahko?" Rachel waved her beautifully manicured hand in front of my face.

Cassie laughed softly, "No wonder she got in trouble in Mathematics."

"Wah?" I asked nonchalantly.

"You were blushing," Rachel said, "Thinking about something?"

Her face turned into a meddling grin, "Or someone?"

"What! No!" I claimed angrily, "Don't be ridiculous!"

Cassie and Rachel both looked at each other and smiled. As for me, I put my hand in my face and sighed.

"Hey shouldn't we be focusing on getting Cassie and Jake on a glamorous dinner date before you two try to hook me up with someone?"

Cassie and Jake have a thing for each other according to Rachel. Though neither will admit it. Cassie withdrew back into her quite, usual self.

"Oh yeah! Good idea!" Rachel said. It was now Cassie's turn to look damn embarrassed. She looked up with me with pleading eyes, begging me to change the subject.

"This tomato surprise is pretty horrible, huh?" I said, poking at my lunch with my fork.

"Oh c'mon Cassie," Rachel said, taking no notice in what I had just said, "You have to go on a date eventually."

I shrugged and smiled at Cassie, indicating I had done all I could. Heck, I was just glad the subject was off me.

&

I was walking home alone this day. Actually, I kind of just ran out of school as soon as the bell rang. I decided to spend the rest of my afternoon dawdling around. Besides, I don't really want to have any awkward conversations with Erek. Which is why I kind of ran out of school really, really fast.

Anyway, I was walking down the street (which was basically deserted) past _the _abandoned construction site. The same one Erek had mentioned. The place where five kids met a dying Andalite prince. I tried not to look at it. I could tell someone had died there. It was cold. I shivered to myself and quickly dug through my bag, looking for the snack bar I had packed earlier. Eventually I found it, and started walking along again.

As soon as I had opened the wrapping, I noticed a homeless women sitting on the side of the road. I could tell she was homeless by the clothes she was wearing. They were pretty dirty. I felt sorry for her. It must be horrible to live on the streets.

I walked over to her and handed her my snack bar. "Here, take it."

She smiled kindly, "Thank you! That's so kind of you!" She took the snack bar gratefully but then stopped to examine me over.

"You're Tedahko aren't you?"

Great. Everyone knew my name. Even the homeless people knew my name. Just great. This was disturbing.

"Uh yeah. And who exactly are you?"

"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. My name's Lourdes. I'm a friend of Erek's."

"Ah uh, okay!" I said. Erek friends with homeless people? There was something new.

"Are you -"

Lourdes finished off exactly what I was saying, "Yes, I am a Chee."

I kind of breathed a sigh of relief. If this was somebody Erek knew from The Sharing and I had said that, the whole of the Chee would have been dead meat.

"Just curious Lourdes, but you can be anybody you want. Why did you choose to be a homeless person?"

Lourdes laughed, "The Chee need people on the streets too. Besides, I was a movie star in my last life."

"Mm. Guess that's fair enough," I said.

"Besides, I don't really mind it. I've lived a lot of worse lives that this."

Lourdes and I said our goodbyes and I kept on walking along. I had hours to waste, and I had never really thought about how I was going to waste them. And then I had a good idea. Maybe it was about time I paid a revisit to Mr. Hawk and the blue centaur.

&

The woods. Home to squirrels, birds and mice and heaven knows what else.

"DAMN!" I cursed as I stepped into a puddle of mud, "These were new shoes..." Of course, nobody could hear me. But talking to myself made me feel safe. I stepped out of the mud puddle quickly, mourned over my new shoes, and continued walking.

The woods were noisy with the cheeping and squawking of some very loud birds. In fact, they were giving me a headache.

"Why on earth did I come back here again?" I asked myself.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!" I replied to myself.

"Stop talking to yourself!" I scolded myself.

The bushes rustled. I turned to my left as fast as I could, just in time to seem a flash of blue. I got out my two knives and held them in front of me, ready to face whatever was going to attack me. Rustle in the bushes behind me. I spun around again. Then I felt something hit my head. Hard. I got knocked out.

...

(Tedahko? But why was she wondering through the woods again?) said a voice.

(I am not sure. But I knocked her unconscious with the flat side of my blade just to be safe,) replied another voice.

(Okay Ax-man. I'm going to get Jake. There are a few questions he wants to ask her.)

I could here the fluttering of wings and then silence. I moaned with not much enthusiasm and rolled over to my side.

(Do not move,) said a voice.

_Oh crap,_ I thought.

_Not this guy again._

**A/n: Tedahko's ideas never exactly turn out how she expects. Thank you to my awesome reviewers, alerters and favoriters. You make me happy. Heh. I shall update as soon as I can. Another thanks to LuciaBoveri for her Beta Reading. **


	11. To Catch a Nishkak

**A/n: I'll get this chapter beta read this weekend. I've been a bit busy lately so I just want to add this before I forget. So you'll had to excuse my awful grammar for one chapter. Enjoy the thrills of non beta read-ness.**

Chapter 11

My name is Jake.

And this was one of the rare moments were I could just do something normal. Face it, fighting alien slugs isn't classified as normal, and I'm pretty sure morphing into animals doesn't cut it either.

I bit the end of my pencil in frustration. Thats right, homework. Mathematics to be exact. And this might sound a little hard to believe, but I was actually enjoying it. Doing homework I didn't have to worry about the people I care about getting killed. I didn't have to worry about Earth being in the firing line, with only four human kids, a hawk and an Andalite standing in the way. Yep, it was just me and algebra today.

(Jake?)

So much for a normal day. I quickly turned my head to see a red tail hawk sitting on my window sill. Tobias.

"Hey Tobias," I said, "Whats up?"

(Tedahko.)

I had a horrible feeling then. Tedahko was this new girl at our school. But something about her really concerns me. Ax caught her snooping around the woods the other day and held his tail-blade to her throat. Then apparently he somehow "flew" ten feet backwards. We don't know who or what she is, but she certainly isn't human. And could possibly be associated with the Yeerks.

"What about her?" I asked.

(Ax knocked her unconscious and is making sure she doesn't move. It might be a good idea to ask her a few questions.)

I nodded, "Yeah, it just might be."

&

My name is Tedahko.

But at the moment I was "Tedahko-I-feel-so-stupid-to-be-in-the-same-situation-twice." I lay very, very still on the ground, hoping Mr Centaur didn't twitch his knife-thing, as it was up against my throat.

"Can I at least open my eyes?" I asked ever so politely.

(I will not allow you to move any part of your body until my prince arrives.)

I chuckled to myself, "Prince? Heh, prince of the blue centaurs..."

The knife pressed harder against my throat.

(Do not insult my race

you filthy Yeerk!) the Andalite/Centaur/whatever he is spat. Spat... Hmmm... would that be possible considering he spoke using telepathy?

"Woah! Woah! Chill!" I said quickly, "No need to get angry. Besides, I'm not a Yeerk."

(We shall let my prince decide that,) he said, sounding full of himself.

"Yeah, whatever," I said. Unknown to the centaur, I was trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation. It seemed very easy for me to get into these situations, but however it was very hard getting out. Obviously my skills in telekinetic magic wasn't going to work here. Whoever this guy was, he obviously wasn't stupid and would be prepared for me to try the same thing again.

_Think Tedahko, think! How could I get out of this..._

I swear if I was in a cartoon a light bulb would of appeared above my head then. Of course! Why hadn't I thought of it before? Mind control! Mind control is not the easiest form of magic I had learned. Matter of fact, it was pretty close to the hardest. I had only learned little, but hopefully, a little would be enough. There was the whole possibility that it wouldn't work on this guy, as some are able to resist.

I breathed in and out very long breaths. I then tried to find the mind I need to control using my conscious. This is _not _as easy as it sounds, and took me about three minutes until I finally came across his mind.

_You are going to bring the knife away from my throat._

The knife thingy went away from my throat. I stood up, dusting my self off, then turned to the Andalite. He looked horrified.

(How are you doing this?!) he demanded.

I smiled, "Please don't come near me again until you learn how to greet people more politely."

I then ran off into the woods and once far enough, I released my control on his mind.

&

Jake's P.O.V

We flew over the clearing were Ax and Tedahko supportively were. Guess what? No Tedahko.

(Uh, Tobias, she isn't there.)

Tobias's hawk head stared down at the clearing. Clearly she wasn't there. And Ax looked very, very stiff. Spooked even.

(Oh man Ax, you let her get away?) Tobias said.

(Tedahko the escape artist,) I muttered glumly.

We flew down and I demorphed. Ax was standing there, not moving. He looked even more spooked now that we had a proper view of him.

"Ax?" I said, waving one hand in front of his face.

(I am sorry Prince Jake,) he spoke up suddenly, (but I can no longer be involved in helping capture this human known as "Tedahko.")

Wow. If Ax said he wouldn't help out with this something must have gone terribly wrong.

(Ax what happened?) Tobias asked.

(This human. She is not normal. My race no longer believe in this word, but if I was not as aware as I am I would of thought she was a _Nishkak.)_

"Ax, what's a _Nishkak_?" I asked.

Ax thought for a second and then said, (I believe it is what you humans would call a witch.)

Me and Tobias looked at each other, stunned.

(Theres no such thing as witches Ax,) Tobias said, (its just fairy-tale mumbo-jumbo.)

Ax sighed, a very unlike Ax thing for him to do, (Yes Tobias, you are right. Just because she obtained control over my mind does not mean that she is a _Nishkak._)

Tobias and I looked at each other once more.

"Mind control?"

&

Tedahko's P.O.V

Though I'm sure camping out in the streets with Lourdes would have been fun, I couldn't hide from Erek forever. Therefor, I made up a plan. Come in, go to my room and act like nothing happened during drama. Yep, the most simplest plan in the world which requires so little effort to pull off.

I tiptoed through the doorway and up the stairs, only to come face to face with a metal Grey Hound android standing on his hind legs half way up the stairs.

"AH!" I shouted with shock, bring my right hand to my chest. Somehow, someway, I managed to trip backwards down the stairs and... you guessed it – got knocked unconscious for the second time this day.

Eventually I began to awakening and I could think was, _Dam, this can't be good for my head._

I opened my eyes to see Erek and his father's worried faces staring down at me.

"Teh, you okay?" Erek asked.

"Oh yeah," I said, my voice drenched in sarcasm, "Never been better."

Erek gave me this sincere, apologetic look, "Sorry. The Chee have been having a few technical difficulties with our holographic technology lately. I didn't mean to give you a heart attack."

"Oh nah, I'm fine." Erek helped me up off my position on the sofa. Funny, I didn't remember going unconscious on the sofa. Then I remembered that Erek had told me that the Chee were extremely strong. As far as I knew, he could of carried me across the room.

"I'll make us some hot chocolate," Erek's father offered.

"Thanks," I said.

Erek looked at me with an indecipherable look on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"Why are you covered in mud?"

&

My name is Cassie.

"Guys, I can't do this. It isn't right."

The rest of the group stared over at me as I bandaged the wing of a crow, which had somehow managed to make its way in front of a truck.

"Have you got any better ideas?" Marco asked, "because I sure haven't."

"The great Marco admits defeat," Rachel said to herself, grinning, "How sad."

"Put a cork in it Xena. Your just jealous that after this whole thing is over I would be going out with her."

"Oh please Marco," Rachel said, "As if I would be jealous. Besides, Tedahko is way out of your league anyway."

Thats why we were all here in the barn having a meeting. Tedahko. Something bizarre had happened in the woods today which involved "mind control" being used on Ax. I don't fully understand what happened, but there is certainly something not quite right about Tedahko. Nobody can figure out who or what she is. And every time we think we have her cornered, she escapes. This all led to an idea thought up my Marco – which I was dead set against.

"What do you think Rachel?" Jake asked.

"Let's do it."

The votes were five to one. Me being the one. Everyone looked at me expectantly.

"I'm not doing it," I said quietly, "I'm sorry, but I just don't think leaving a note on somebody's window sill saying you have captured somebody they care about just isn't right."

"Cassie," Jake sighed, "I'm as against this plan as you are, but we have tried every other way of dealing with her. And after what happened today, well, as far as I'm concerned, Tedahko is a threat."

&

Tedahko's P.O.V

Dinner was pretty... uh... awkward. Not much conversation occurred. Erek's father's boss had called him into work at the last minute. One of the workers had become ill. So it was just me and Erek, eating Cesar Salads with no conversation at all.

"Finished!" I said quickly and walked over to the dishwasher and loaded my plate in.

"Well, I'm going to bed! Goodnight!"

"Tedahko, its 7:00pm."

Crud. Why didn't I just say study?

Erek gave me a stern look which was slightly unusual for him. I backed away a few steps, ready to sprint to my room.

"Are you avoiding me?"

Crud times ten.

"Avoiding you? Hah!" I let out that weird sort of laugh people let out when their lying, but was hoping he didn't notice... "Why would I be avoiding you?"

Erek shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe about what happened in drama."

I froze. Why couldn't of he acted stupid for once? I mean, yeah, sure, he's lived for ages. But since when has he been so good at working out things like this?

_Since always, _I thought glumly. I had to stop myself from shuddering.

"Oh that? Nah, its cool. Now I'm going to go to bed."

Erek looked at me suspiciously. I knew he didn't buy my excuse.

"If you want to talk about it..."

"Goodnight!" I said cheerfully, as I ran up the stairs and pretending I didn't hear him.

"Goodnight." I could of sworn I her a sigh on the end of that, but I didn't dare go back and check.

I entered my room and closed the door. I was looking through my suitcase for pajamas when I came across what appeared to be a photo. Funny, last time I checked a photo hadn't fallen out of my photo album. I picked up the photo and examined it. A tear began to gather in my eye, but I wiped it away quickly. I don't cry. Period. Staring back at me was a picture of my parents and me, when I was ten.

We all looked so happy, so carefree. I guess we were back then. Believe me, growing up using magic was far from normal. But my parents helped me. Well, not my father. He was a mortal; a human; and had no magical blood on his side at all. But he tried. I laughed when his card tricks had always gone wrong.

I sunk onto my bed, staring at the photo. And even though it was only 7:00pm, I eventually fell off to sleep.

&

Jake's P.O.V

"What makes you so sure she'll fall for it anyway?" Rachel asked, "I mean, I'm all for this plan, but Tedahko isn't stupid."

"We just have to hope she doesn't look in Erek's room and follows the notes instructions straight away," I said.

"I still think its wrong," Cassie muttered. Cassie didn't like this plan. Basically the plan was to leave a note on Tedahko's window sill saying that we had captured Erek and that if wanted to see him alive she would have to meet us in the woods. Sure, it was a little crazy and outrageous, and their were many flaws to it. One being if Tedahko actually found Erek in the house and pointed out the note. Anyway, the main aim was to capture and question her – with nobody getting hurt.

"And why is it wrong Cassie?" Marco asked, "I'm sure she's a good person, but she's been playing mind games with us."

"Don't you see?" Cassie demanded, "The situation we're putting Tedahko in – that could be us one day. What if that threat was against us? What if the Yeerks captured out families and left a note on our window sills?"

"We aren't playing "what if" game Cassie!" Marco spat.

Cassie looked up at me, distracting her from giving a badger an injection. Her eyes were blank, cold. Never had I seen her look at me that way. I felt like saying sorry, but I hadn't even done anything wrong.

"Forget it, count me out." And with that, Cassie walked out if the barn.

"Just great!" Marco said, slapping his hands on his knees, "Thats down to four."

Ax was for this plan, but after what happened he decided to sit out. Just to be safe. But right now I was thinking about Cassie. I had never seen that much despair in her. Yes, I knew this war was taking a toll. It was taking a toll on all of us. But none more than Cassie. She actually has morals; she actually wants to be a good person; to never kill.

I looked up in the rafters. A red tail hawk swooped down through the hole in the roof and onto one of the beams.

(Done.)

"Good work Tobias."

I scoped the barn. Rachel, Marco waited patiently for my orders. Well, patiently wasn't really the right word. Marco looked ticked off, and Rachel had that glint in her eyes that indicated she wanted to kick Marco,

"Okay," I said;

"_Let's get into position."_

**A/n: Yipee, chapter 11. I have a feeling however this chapter had a major case of OOC. Like always, review and criticize please. Also, if anybody could give me tips on how to write morphing scenes that would be a big help. I kind of can't write them XD The next chapter is going to be jam-packed (Heh, what a stupid word) with action. I shall update soon!**


	12. Confessions

Chapter 12

It was about 11:00pm when I heard a tap on my window. I jumped to damn high I almost hit my head on the ceiling. Quickly I drew my knives from under my pillow (Yes, I had them under my pillow. You would two if a demon had appeared randomly in your room) and cautiously crept over to my window.

I looked out into the motionless night. There was nobody there.

"I'm going insane," I muttered to myself. Until something caught my eye. A piece of paper sat on the sill, with a pebble holding it down so it wouldn't blow away. The note gave me a bad feeling. In fact, life lately had given me a bad feeling. Sometimes I have to question whether or not I'm living in some kind of horror movie.

I picked up the note and closed my window quickly. It was pretty dark in my room, as it was almost midnight but still I could just make out the letters on the note.

_**If you want to see Erek again, meet us in the woods. Don't bother finding us, we'll find you.**_

I said something that began with "f" but wasn't "fudge." Oh god. Oh god. They had Erek. My brain went into some kind breakdown. Oh god. What was I going to do? The Yeerks have him! Oh, sh-

"Get a hold of yourself!" I said to myself. I took a deep breath.

"Okay Tedahko, think about this logically," I said, trying to sound a lot calmer than I actually felt, "this could all be some kind of hoax. Check Erek's room. He's probably there right now."

I crept down the hallway and into Erek's room. No Erek.

"Fudge," I said. And no, I didn't say that other word. I actually said fudge. Now I wasn't scared. I was very, very angry. And whoever these people were, they were going to be sorry they ever messed with me.

&

Being a crow was like a temporary escape. If I was a crow, I wouldn't have to worry about Erek being kidnapped. I wouldn't have to worry about Earth being invaded by the Yeerks. I wouldn't feel pain from knowing that both of my parents were dead. But I was not a crow. I was Tedahko. I was human. And I was going to settle this mess and save Erek.

The night air was flat. Not even a single thermal nor breeze I could ride. Getting from Erek's house to the woods was no easy task. It required a lot of painful flapping. But I had anger on my side, which helped to some consent.

I finally came to the woods. Just when I was about to land, I had a better idea. Instead, I kept on flying over the woods. No way I was going to go on the ground – I would be too vulnerable. There was no sign of the Yeerks. I wondered what they wanted from me. If they somehow knew I had turned into a crow, maybe they thought I was some kind of Andalite or something. Honestly, I didn't have a clue.

(Tedahko?) Oh great. I spun around in mid air to see none other than my old friend Mr Hawk approaching. Smarter than the average crow, I acted like I was an average crow and managed to look completely nonchalant.

(If you're just some average crow, forgive me. It's nothing personal. You aren't as nearly as bad as those Peregrine Falcons.) Suddenly, Mr Hawk began charging at me. Now believe me, crows are pretty fast. But there is no way it could outdo a hawk.

I quickly came up with an idea that would startle Mr Hawk enough for me to find Erek and get out of the woods. Awhile back I had came up with a technique on how to merge crow with human. How I managed to do this, I do not know. I have always sucked at shape-shifting in animals. The fact that I could only do a crow made that pretty clear. I cleared my mind and imagined myself human. If I was going to do this, I had to be quick about it. Humans don't do to well thirty feet off the ground. I turned back to human in a split instant, then quickly focused on the crow. I only focused on the wings. Black, big wings emerged from my human back. Luckily, they matched with my body so they weren't puny like the wings of a real crow.

(What the -) said Mr Hawk.

All of a sudden I discovered the flaw to my plan. Yes, a flaw. I hadn't learned how to fly as a half human half crow. So before I could say fudge, I was falling, tumbling towards the earth below.

_Smack!_

I fell face first into the mud. I felt angry and embarrassed, and as much as I wanted to rescue Erek, I was really, really hoping he hadn't of seen that. I quickly looked up from my position in the mud and sat up. In front of me was a tiger, eyes glowing a luminous white. I spun to my left – a gorilla. I spun to my right – a grizzly bear. I looked behind me. Mr Hawk landed on the ground. Quickly, I withdrew my knives, ready to fight whoever I needed to fight.

(Knives? Honestly, I thought you were smarter than that,) said a voice, which seemed to come from the grizzly bear. The voice seemed to familiar, so -

"Rachel?"

The grizzly bear stiffened. Sure, I already knew one of them was Rachel. Erek had told me. But the element of surprise gives opportunities. But before I could grasp this opportunity, the tiger spoke. If you count telepathy as "speaking" that is.

(We don't want to hurt you,) said the tiger. I instantly recognized him as Jake, (we just want to talk.)

"Oh yeah! You want to talk!" I spat, "well guess what, you've lost that chance. You knew who I was, you could of just approached me, and said 'Oh, hey, wanna chat?' but no. You crossed the line as soon as you took _him_."

(Why do all the pretty ones happen to be either complete air-heads or have anger management issues?) asked the gorilla. Marco, no doubt.

Its fair to say I released my anger. I let a big, circular force of energy be released from around me, knocking the animals back a few feet. Now it was my chance to find Erek and escape.

It was my chance, that is, until the centaur got added into the equation. He jumped in front of me, blocking my way. His tail was arched high, and I had a bad feeling he was going to use that scary looking blade thingy on me.

(Ax! I thought you were going to stay out of this?) Jake asked, as he slowly trotted back towards me.

(I decided to keep my dignity and fight along your side, prince Jake.)

Well, well, well. Jake was a prince. Hmm, don't you learn something new every day?

In a split second I saw his tail coming zooming towards me. And you know, maybe he wasn't trying to kill me, maybe he was just trying to knock me out. But that didn't make me feel any better. Just when the blade was about to collide with my head, something jumped on me, slamming me face first into the mud – again.

Ouch. It felt like a car had fallen on me. I felt a mix of motions then. Mostly pain. Fear, curiosity and even a touch of giddiness. Why? I have no idea.

I turned my head slightly to see what had fallen on me. Erek.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. I quickly nodded, finding the whole situation pretty hard to asorb.

He was alive? They didn't capture him? What was going on?

Erek saw that him crushing me was not a pleasant experience and stood and helped me up.

"What is going on here?" Erek demanded, his voice angry. Which was pretty unusual for Erek. Both me and the animals were silent.

(We were just... talking,) Marco said.

(Oh, shut up Marco,) Rachel said automatically.

"How do you explain the note I found on Tedahko's bed then?" Erek asked. Jake was about to answer but I cut in.

"Wait? So they didn't capture you?"

Erek shook his head, "No. I was in the underground park under my house."

"Woah? You have an underground park?" I asked in amazement.

Erek gave a small nod then focused his attention back on the animals.

"I'll have a talk to you about this tomorrow, but right now, I'm taking Tedahko home."

Erek put his arm around my shoulder and to my surprise, the animals let us pass. I could still here some faint telepathy as I walked off.

(Wow, nice plan Jake,) said Marco.

(Marco, this was your plan, remember?)

(Oh yeah.)

_Note to self: bash Marco into wall._

(God, I could do with some rat about now.)

(So could we all bird-boy, so could we all.)

&

The walk home was silent. Neither of us said a word. My thoughts, my emotions, sat still, like a music player on pause. And when we finally got back to Erek's house, something I couldn't control happened. I cried. I am one of those people who don't often cry, not matter how many painful, awkward and plain weird situations I get stuck in. But right now I just couldn't hold it back. I needed to let it all out.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, tears scrolling down my cheeks. "Everything is stuffed up and it's all my fault."

Erek wrapped his two arms around my back and pulled me into a hug.

"Please, don't cry. I hate it when you do." I then remembered Erek had seen me cry before. When I was five I fell of a swing set and and got a cut on my knee. Erek put a band-aid on it. When I was eight the kids were picking on me. Erek stood up for me. Oh god, had he always been looking out for me this much?

"This isn't your fault. Its all a misunderstanding," he said. I could of sworn I felt his fingers comb gently through my hair, though I was probably imaging things. He released me from the hug.

"We'll fix this later this morning," he said. Yeah, it was 1:00 am now. Hours of precious sleep missed.

"But for now you should probably go back to sleep."

I nodded and quickly wiped the tears from my eyes. Erek smiled faintly and I did the same in return. And slowly, I made my way back to bed, soon to face yet another day.

&

When my head touched the pillow that night I went straight into a dream. I was walking down the street and looked over to a nearby park. My parents were strolling through it. The sunlight was bright, the day beautiful and warm. But it didn't last for long. A shadow appeared over the park. I looked up into the sky and saw it. It was, well, quite obviously a space ship. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what was going to happen.

_Tseeeew, Tseeeew_

"Killed by a government aircraft my ass," I whispered, my eyes still closed.

Why was I seeing this? It couldn't of been a recall of what I had seen. I was nowhere near here when it happened when my parents had died. I opened my eyes. The detail around me – it was perfect. It wasn't like the dreams I usually had, which were distorted with weird colors. This was too perfect. This wasn't a real dream.

"What is going on here?" I demanded.

_**There are a lot more things I have to show you Tedahko. A lot more things you need to understand. **_The voiced echoed from all around me, coming from everywhere.

"Who are you?"

The voice didn't answer me.

"Tedahko! Wake up!"

I woke up to see Erek's worried face looking at me.

"What happened?" I whispered.

"You were screaming," he replied, sounding worried. His expression softened. "Were you having a nightmare?"

I sat up on the side of my bed and nodded. I suppose there was no harm in telling Erek what I dreamed about.

"I dreamed I saw my parent's death," I said quietly, "and then in the end, I heard a voice. It told me it had more things it needed to show me. More things I needed to understand."

"It was just a bad dream," Erek said, "I'm sure it didn't mean anything."

I nodded, "Yeah your probably right. But that voice. I can't stop thinking about it. The way it spoke, it was like it was coming from everywhere at once."

Erek stiffened. "Ellimist," he whispered.

"What?" I demanded.

"No it doesn't matter. I'm probably wrong," he replied.

"Yes it does matter," I said, "now tell me what an Ellimist is."

"Trust me," Erek said, "It's really hard to explain."

I sighed and looked at my alarm clock. 8:50am. And that's when the panic set in.

"Oh crud, we're late for school!" I said, I quickly ruffled through my closet for clothes.

"Uh, Tedahko?"

"What do you think, the red or the brown?" I asked, holding up two t-shirts. It suddenly occurred to me why the hell was I asking an android for fashion advice, but I was in a hurry so I dismissed it.

"Teh?" Erek asked again.

"Yeah, I like the red too," I said, grabbing the red T-shirt.

"TEDAHKO!" Erek shouted in a very out of character way, finally getting my attention.

"Yes?" I asked.

"It's Saturday."

"Oh."

&

"Dogs! They're everywhere!" I exclaimed just as one took the effort to walk over and urinate on my foot. I made an "Ugh" face and Erek just laughed. Erek had shown me the park under his house. And let me tell you, it was pretty damn big. Dogs, dogs and more dogs. That was all I could see in every direction.

"Why dogs?" I asked as I trotted in... well, never mind.

"They remind us of our creators," Erek explained, "Along time ago we put their essence in wolves, thus creating dogs."

"Hmmm, there's something I didn't know," I said. I went over and scratched behind the ear of the "Urinator-of-leg" dog in order to make peace between us. Obviously our friendship hadn't started on the right foot. Hah, foot.

After a while we went back up to Erek's house. I decided to make a sandwich only to discover we had no bread, so I offered to walk around to 7 Eleven and get some. So here I was. Walking down the street without a care in the world. It was the first time I had relaxed in the last twenty four house, and I was enjoying it. But as I had learned previously, all good things come to an end.

I just happened to look up and saw Mr Hawk was following me. I checked to make sure nobody was watching and said: "Tobias, I presume." I decided I should start calling him by his real name.

(Tedahko.)

"And why exactly are you following me?" I asked suspiciously

(You know why.)

"Fine. Where should I meet you?" I asked.

(Know were Cassie's barn is?) Tobias asked.

"Yeah."

(There at 2:00.)

And with that, Tobias flew off. I looked at my watch. 12:30. So I still had two hours and a half to dawdle around. Dawdle, hmmm. I've always hated that word. Anyway, since it was still a while until I had to meet up with the "Animorphs," I decided to take a detour and go to the mall.

The mall was pretty crowded. Preppy girls were sitting in the corner gossiping, jocks were seeing who could eat the most pieces of fried chicken in a minute, old people shopping wearing the most horrendous clothes and a mall cop pulling over some scarily pretty guy with sugar-frosting all over his face. Yup, thats the mall for you. Huh?

I looked over to see a mall cop with a sniffer dog talking to this kid. I then recognized the kid as the centaur thingy disguised as a human. Cassie walked over too and started talking to the mall cop. Although I knew this was probably none of my business, I decided to hide behind a nearby fake plant and eavesdrop.

"What's going on here?" Cassie asked.

"Ma'm, do you know this kid?" asked the mall cop.

"Uh, yeah, he's my friends...cousin."

"Well Ma'm, my sniffer dog Charlie here just picked up something. Possibly a trace of drugs."

Cassie shot the centaur a look saying, "what have you done this time?"

"Now empty your pockets sir."

The centaur paused, as if he was thinking it through then out came a piece of Marijuana.

Cassie paused then said, "A-, Phillip, where did you get that?"

"I was watching what called itself the "DIY Channel" on my TV before we left. The human was demonstrating the art of flower arranging. Arranging. Ahhhhh-rannn-ging. Ing. Ing."

Both Cassie and the mall cop displayed horrified looks.

"I'm sorry sir, but we have to take you down to the station," said the mall cop.

I focused, trying to find his mind among the other gazillion minds at the mall. I connected to it in just under five seconds (which I was pretty proud in myself for doing) and used mind control.

_You are going to walk off and forget you ever saw this._

The guard paused and simply walked off.

Both Cassie and the centaur looked at each other.

"No more flower arranging for you Ax."

I purposely walked about ten feet in front her and shot her a smile. Cassie saw me and widened her eyes. I then walked off, blending into the crowd once more. Although I didn't like the other Animorphs that much (especially Mr Centaur), I liked Cassie. She gave off a kind sorta vibe.

I then made my way back to Erek's house.

"Hey Teh" Erek said as I walked, "Get the bread?"

And after all of that, I had forgotten the damned bread.

"Uh.. I was mobbed..."

Erek raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

"By seagulls."

Erek laughed, "what were you really doing?"

"The mall. I felt like shopping. Sorry."

"It's okay. Hey, how about we go for an ice cream soon?" he asked, "Though fatty cream with artificial coloring and flavoring doesn't amuse me that much since I can't actually taste it."

I saw the clock on the wall behind him which said 1:30pm. Great. There were my choices. Have ice cream with my best friend or hang out with a bunch of kids that could turn into animals and a centaur alien which by no doubt wants me dead. Hard decision huh?

"I'm.. sorry," I said, "I promised I would meet up with someone."

I could see Erek was trying not to look disappointed. "Don't worry. It's fine. Another time huh?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling sadly and feeling bad about myself. I then walked up to my room and flew off to meet the Animorphs.

&

I landed not far away from the barn and made my way over from there. I tried not to look too conspicuous in the peaceful farm landscape. Cautiously, I crept over to the barn door and knocked. I know, not much of an entrance, but what else could I do?

Cassie's face peered out from behind the door. "Oh, hey Tedahko. Come in."

I was disturbed by her friendliness then. It was so simple. I walked into to see Rachel, Marco, Jake, Mr Centaur (I can never remember his name), and Tobias watching me carefully. Cassie closed the barn door and stepped over to the side.

"Wow, she actually turned up," Marco said.

"Obviously," I said, "so now that I'm here, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"We want to know who you and what you are," Jake said bluntly.

I frowned, "Sure you want to know?"

"Oh! Oh! Can I guess?" asked Marco, sounding excited. Rachel gave a pained look.

"Yeah, why not."

"You turned into a crow, so you must be an Andalite, right?"

(She is not an Andalite,) said Ax harshly. Wow, I actually remembered his name.

"Yeah, you're right," said Marco, "If she was an Andalite she would be a lot more stubborn and arrogant."

The blade on the end of Ax's tail twitched slightly.

"But if you're not an Andalite," Cassie said, "then what are you?"

"Are you an alien from Mars?" Marco asked, grinning stupidly, "that can all turn into birds and make things move with their minds?"

"I already made one mental note to myself to pin you up against a wall Marco, please don't make me make another one."

"I like this girl," replied Rachel.

"Back to the point," said Jake, "who and what are you?"

"Believe me, if I told you, you'd think I was crazy," I said.

Marco was about to say something but kept quite.

"With all the things we have seen, there's nothing we wouldn't believe," said Jake.

I sighed, "Fine. But I need a test dumby."

Rachel pushed Marco forward.

"Ouch," exclaimed Marco.

I focused my energy on Marco and made him fly up, stopping him before he was about to go through the ceiling. Jaws dropped. Well, except Ax's. He didn't have a mouth after all. I put Marco back down on the ground.

"Yeah yeah, you can make stuff fly. Tell us something we don't know," said Rachel.

"I'm not an alien," I said, "But I'm not a human either. Well, I'm half human anyway."

"What's the other half?" Cassie asked curiously.

"Boys and girls," I said, "who here believes in magic?"

Silence. Blank expressions.

"You're kidding me right?" Marco asked.

"Uh no," I said, "actually I'm being completely honest."

"Now alien slugs invading earth, sure. But magic? Not so much," replied Marco.

"I want to here what she has to say," Jake said.

(Nishkak,) said Ax.

I rotated. "In English?"

(Witch.)

I twitched. "Uh no. Not a witch. Close. Sort of."

"Close?" Rachel asked.

"I'm a descendant of a long line of magic users," I said simply.

Rachel gave a short laugh, "Magic users?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm the last one left on earth. My parents died not so long ago and Unicorns and trolls and all that stuff all died out around the medieval period."

"Unicorns?" Cassie asked, looking like a kid in a candy shop, "did they really exist?"

"Of course they didn't!" Marco said. Rachel kicked Marco, "OUCH!"

"Yep. They sure did," I said, replying to Cassie's question.

"Tedahko, if you are joking with us..." Jake began, using a serious voice.

"I'm not. I'm actually telling the truth here. Just for the record, finding out that earth is being invaded was a pretty big shock to me."

"Does Erek know?" Cassie asked quietly.

"Yeah," I said, "he found out not long ago."

"Did you always know he was an android?" Cassie asked.

I shook my head, "No. I have known him since I was two and only found out recently."

Silence again.

"Well," said Jake, "This is an interesting scenario."

(Magic,) said Tobias, speaking up for the first time from his perch in the rafters, (Wow, how about that.)

(I still do not trust you Nishkak,) said Ax.

"Good, we're in agreement then," I replied.

_I still would of rather of got an icecream, _I thought to myself.

Then I noticed that something was quite right.

"Uh guys..."

"Yeah?" Jake asked.

"Why is that fly hovering in mid air. It seems... too still."

Everybody turned to look at the fly. The other animals in the barn also seemed... still. As in not moving. Not breathing.

"Oh man," said Marco,

"_not this again."_

**A/n: This isn't Beta Read, so if you find any mistakes please point them out. This is a pretty long chapter. Eleven pages worth according to Open Office. Hmm. Anyway, thank you to all of my reviewers. Not to sound picky or anything, but I wouldn't mind at least three more reviews until I begin on the next chapter. This chapter was truly jelly-packed (hah, thanks for the suggestion dogman15.) Anyway, R&R please everybody. It makes the world go round.**


	13. Practice

Chapter 13

**Tedahko's P.O.V**

Now when your hanging out with kids who can turn into animals and an alien, your best friends an android, and you're the last user of magic on earth who is so hopeless you can only turn into a crow, your life is pretty much extremely weird/worse case scenario. But when time decides to randomly pause itself – you're screwed.

"Uh..." I said, looking around cautiously, "somebody care to explain?"

"You cheat Ellimist! She is a freak! She is not meant to exist! She will disrupt fate as we know it!"

Everybody jumped slightly at the voice which came out of nowhere.

"Ten bucks says it's another bicker between Crayak and the Ellimist," Marco muttered grimly.

"For once I agree with Marco," said Rachel.

_**Ah, but I am not cheating. Her kind was created long before Crayak and I's agreement.**_

I let a violent shiver travel up my body. Oh god, that voice. It was the same one in my dream. Suddenly, right before us appeared a blue man who looked almost holographic, as he was illuminating with blue.

And then, a kind of humanoid shaped black prune, with evil dark eyes. I nearly got a hard attack. It was the same one I saw in my room!

I quickly ran behind Ax, knowing I was going to regret this decision of being a total coward later. If later even existed.

(Not so courageous now, are you Nishkak?) mocked Ax.

"Put a cork in it, My Little Pony," I retorted.

Ax fell silent. (What is a "My Little Pony?")

"What's going on?" Jake demanded. Unfortunately, Jake was ignored.

"You are being a fool, Ellimist! With her even interacting with them, she could change the entire future itself!" Said the prune thing.

The blue man, the one referred to as the Ellimist, laughed. _**Maybe so Drode, maybe so. But nothing can be done about it now. Her kind were created to help change fate, and that is what she is doing. Is she not?**_

"You have not heard the last of this," said the prune thing, "And Jake, Crayak shall have your soul yet."

And with that, they both disappeared, leaving six kids, an alien and a bird looking into dead space. Then time started working properly again.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, stepping out from behind Ax.

"Oh well, basically our lives are being used in the conquest of universe domination," Marco said with monotone, "nothing overly interesting."

"When they were talking, who were they referring to?" Cassie asked. I felt all the eyes in the room rest on me.

"Don't look at me!" I said, "I don't know anything about this!"

(I knew you were a traitor, Nishkak.)

"I am not!" I protested, "I have no idea what just happened!"

(You a-)

Cassie held out her hand in a stop motion, trying to make peace between us. Obviously, it was only going to have a temporary effect, but it shut Ax up, so I'm happy.

Then, all of a sudden reality hit me. Oh god, time had paused. But how was that possible? I mean, time just can't pause, it can't -

&

**Marco's P.O.V**

_Thump!_

Tedahko fainted for no reason at all. Cassie quickly ran up to her, trying to wake her up and checking for any signs of injury.

(I do not understand. Is this some human act of self defense?) wondered Ax. Nobody payed attention.

"Jake, can you get a pillow from inside please?" Cassie asked.

"Yep, sure can," replied Jake, and he walked outside the barn.

"I think she's okay," Cassie said, standing up and dusting off her bird crap covered overalls, "she probably passed out from shock."

"She was fine a minute ago," Rachel said, "Why did she have to pass out at that moment?"

"I'm not sure," Cassie said, "Somebody should probably ring Erek, see if she has a history of passing out like this."

"I'll do it," I offered. So I walked out of the barn and around to Cassie's house to use her land line. Inside, I saw Jake carrying a pink pillow.

"Do you think Cassie would mind I'm using her pillow?" Jake asked.

I grinned, "Oh, so you went into her room eh? Get to do any snooping around?" Jake turned bright red and quickly walked out the door without saying another word. I grinned with satisfactory to myself.

I then grabbed Cassie's phone and dialed in Erek's number.

_Ring, Ring_

_  
Ring, Ring_

_Ring, -_

"Hello?" Answered an older male voice.

"Hi Mr. King, it's Marco. Is Erek there?"

"Hang on Marco, I'll just get him for you."

"_Erek!"_ I heard Mr. King's voice call out, _"Phone!"_

"_Coming!"_

"Hello?"

"Hey Erek, its Marco."

"Oh, hey Marco, what's up?"

"Uh," I began, "Does Tedahko have a history of randomly passing out?"

"Yes she does, why?"

"Well, erh, she kinda passed out in Cassie's barn..."

"So that's why she couldn't have icecream with me," muttered Erek to himself, "Tedahko, is she okay? Is she hurt?"

"No, not that we know of," I responded.

"Okay Marco, hang on. We'll come and pick her up."

"Okay, see ya.

"Bye."

I hung up and returned to the barn.

**Tedahko's P.O.V**

One minute I was in the barn and felt light headed, the next thing I knew I could smell the scent of tea drift through the room and something cold up against my head. I slowly opened my eyes and took the cold object (which turned out to be an icepack) off my head. I wiped my eyes, sat up, and looked around. Erek's father was making tea in the kitchen. Erek, who was walking down the stairs, noticed I was awake and walked over to me.

"Teh, you okay? How you feeling?"

"Uhh..." I said, rubbing my head, "Sleepy. I guess I feel sleepy."

Erek smiled but took up a look of worry, "You were out for hours," he explained, "It's 7:30pm now."

"Oh great," I muttered. The thought that I had been unconscious that long made me feel like I wanted to pass out, though I resisted temptation on that one. Erek's father poured himself some tea and walked up the stairs.

"I'm worried about you," Erek said in a sort of whisper.

"I'm fine," I insisted, "I just got... a bit of a shock.. thats all."

"People don't go passing out for to reason," Erek pointed out.

"Well, what I saw gave me quite a shock." Erek looked at me expectantly.

"I'm tired. I'll tell you tomorrow."

Erek nodded. "Okay. It's just that when you came here you were so calm.. and.."

"And what?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know. You just seem a lot more anxious now than you were then."

"Honestly Erek, can you blame me? First I find out my best friends an android, then I find out earth is being invaded my some kind of alien slugs and today I see more possibly alien creatures!"

"I can't blame you," he said, "Look, just be careful, okay?"

I nodded, "I will."

"Oh yeah, one more thing..."

"Yes?" I asked.

"Miss Cruz rang while you were out."

I stiffened. Miss Cruz? Our drama teacher? But why would she ring us?

"She was wondering if we would like to come in for rehearsal tomorrow," Erek said.

I tried to to look cool, calm and collective. Instead, I failed miserably by freezing with my mouth slightly hanging open.

"Oh uh, unless your not okay with it. Cos' you know, I'll totally understand if you're not."

"Oh nah! Me? Not cool with it?"

Erek gave me a worried/I-know-that-you-are-lying look. "Okay, but only if your sure."

"I'm sure," I lied.

Soon after that conversation I went to bed early. But I couldn't get to sleep. I kept on thinking about the next day. What was I going to do? I mean, I can't be Juliet! And Erek can't be Romeo! I mean, that would be just awkward. I couldn't kiss my best friend! I mean, I _like _Erek, but not _like like _him.

_Or do you?_ Asked a nagging voice in the back of my head.

_Shut up! _I retorted, _Stop interrupting my thinking!_

_You're denying it to yourself._

_  
I am not!_

_If it makes you feel better, you can keep on telling lies to yourself._

_I'm not telling lies! I don't like him that way._

...

_Or do I?_

_See, what did I tell you?_

_That I was denying it to myself._

_And was I right?_

_No!_

_You're way too stubborn Tedahko._

_  
Well, technically your Tedahko too._

_Correction, I am your subconscious._

_Oh._

_  
Yeah 'oh.'_

Eventually, I stopped talking to my subconscious and fell asleep.

&

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_ Said the alarm clock which I didn't remember existed.

"insert your choice of bad word here," I whispered under my breath.

"Come on Tedahko, we're going to be late for rehearsal!" Erek called from down the hall.

"Since when did I have an alarm clock?" I called back.

"I got you one. You sleep in too much."

I frowned. "Really, you shouldn't have," I muttered sarcastically.

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_ Said the alarm clock again.

"How do I shut this thing up?" I called out. Believe it or not, I actually have never owned an alarm clock.

"See the metal thingy on the top?"

"Yeah?"

"Push it." I pushed it, but the damned thing continued to ring in the most annoying manner possible.

So I made it rise it the air, and smashed it against the wall, causing it to shatter into little pieces. I wonder if alarm clocks always bring this much grief to people. Instantly feeling guilty about the smashing the alarm clock that Erek had given me, I quickly swept it under the bed hoping Erek

wouldn't notice. As I walked down the stairs to breakfast, I began working on a cover story that a seagull had flown in my window and smashed it. I then realized that perhaps I use this excuse a little too often and that maybe I should say a Red Tailed Hawk did it.

I walked down stairs to see Erek pouring milk on his Cheerios. Personally, I can't stand Cheerios. Especially those yucky, evil corn ones. Erek looked up at me.

"You look tired. Didn't get much sleep huh?"

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, "I was up all night talking to my subconscious."

Erek gave me an unsure look and went on with eating his Cheerios.

&

**Marco's P.O.V**

It was not exactly the way I wanted to spend my Sunday.To be honest I would of rather of gone on some insane mission that involved me nearly getting myself killed. Or even better, I would of liked to sit down and watch daytime trash TV.

But nooooooooooo. Mrs McKenzie, my drama teacher, just _had _to give me a D. And so here I was. Getting extra marks by being stage manager for a corny Romeo and Juliet play. I could of spent this time so much more creatively. For example, I would of liked to of gone to the arcade with Jake, which is something I haven't had a chance to do much since I've become an Animorph.

I looked over to the side of the hall to see Tedahko and Erek come in. Both of them started walking in separate directions when they were about halfway across the hall. I decided to approach Tedahko and give her as much grief as possible for being in such a corny play.

"Hey Tedahko, whatcha playing? The castle?"

Tedahko flushed angrily and didn't look very happy to see me, "Don't make me toss you through the ceiling Marco."

"Sure, like you'd do that with everybody watching."

"Want to find out?"

I shook my head, "Oh, never mind. I, Marco, the glorious and handsomely charming stage manager shall go back to my stage managing."

Tedahko widened her eyes, "You're stage manager?"

"Uh, yeah. I think thats what I just said."

Tedahko was silent.

"And is there a problem with that, Tedahko?"

"Oh no. No problem. Forget I said anything." And with that, she walked off. Well, that was unusual. It was very unlike her to act that way. But anyway, I dismissed it.

&

It was a bit later and we we're about to start the play. I looked over at Tedahko, who was wearing a long, pink dress and one of those funny, pointy hats.

"So, you're Juliet huh?"

"Yep, sure am. Looks like my role outdoes yours Marco."

I payed no attention, "So who's ya Romeo aye?"

She ignored me and continued to fix up her hair, but I think I saw her blush.

"Oooooooh," I said, grinning with pure satisfaction, "Tedahko and Erek, sitting in a tre-"

I didn't have time to complete that sentence, because I flew face first into a wall.

"Told you I would," Tedahko whispered. I peeled my face off the wall and looked around. Luckily, I don't think anyone noticed, as they were to busy getting ready for rehearsal. I scowled at Tedahko, who was now grinning, and walked off around the corner. I heard voices coming the hallway behind the stage, and decided to eavesdrop since I had nothing better to do.

"Are you sure you saw an osprey fly into the school?" Asked a voice which sounded very much like my drama teacher, Mrs McKenzie. I froze. Okay, so, my dad's car was low on petrol so I flew and demorphed at the back of the school. Big deal.

"Yes," replied an older male voice which I didn't recognize, "Enenk 341so saw it. The description he gave me matches the description of one of the morphs of the Andalite bandits."

Uh oh. This is not good.

"Are you suggesting that one of the Andalite bandits might be posing as a student at this school?" asked Mrs McKenzie.

"I am not sure," said the older male voice, "but I think we should infest all the students just in case. Tell the students to line up at the makeup room. We shall infest them in there."

&

**Tedahko's P.O.V**

_Ignore what Marco said, _said my subconscious.

_Oh great, not you again._

_You are you're own person, you are allowed to choose what path you take._

_I liked you better just as my subconscious. Not as a fortune cookie._

Before my subconscious and I really started to have an argument, I was approached by Marco.

"I thought you learned your lesson," I said.

"No listen," he whispered, "I need your help."

I raised my eyebrow suspiciously, "why?"

"_Because everyone here is in really big trouble."_

**A/N: CLIFFIE! Well, at least I think it counts as a cliffie. Review please everyone! It means a lot to know what you think of my story. I shall update soon! **


	14. Relations

**A/n: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You make me feel like running up to some random guy in the streets and hugging him. But of course, I wouldn't do that since I still 20 sane. Anyway, if you love fanfics that involve Erek, I would recommend checking out Skyflight Erek's Loyalty's story, "My Best Friend Is An Android." It a really awesome and cute fic, and by coincidence holds a few similarities to this story, though neither of us copied. Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter 14

Tedahko's P.O.V

I fainted. Or, at least I pretended to. According to Marco, I was the "distraction." And where did I faint you ask? Right in front of the makeup room. When some teacher named Mrs McKenzie ordered the students to line up in front of the makeup room to get their makeup done (well, it was actually for infestation but she didn't tell them that...) I made sure I was first in line and fainted.

"Don't panic! She does this all the time! Really!" Erek's voice said among the dozens of voices of the people who where surrounding me. Erek was in on the plan too. Marco had managed to tell him right before we put the plan into place.

"What's going on here?!" demanded a voice which I assumed was Mrs McKenzie. Just a hunch.

"I was just standing here and she passed out!" replied Erek, trying to sound worried. He was pretty good at acting. Come to think of it, he had been pretty much acting his whole life.

"Okay, well let's get her into the makeup room. The room is carpeted, it'll be more comfortable for her in there."

Oh, Mrs Mckenzie was good. Wait, makeup room? Where they where doing the infestations? Uh oh. Not a good scenario. I mean, if Mrs Mckenzie wanted to drag me into that room, their was nothing Erek could do to stop her. He's a non-violent android for crying out loud. He couldn't even pinch her.

_C'mon Marco!_ I thought, _Hurry up!_

"But, uh... she's claustrophobic! You know how the makeup room is so small. It wouldn't be practical."

Oh yes, Mrs McKenzie was good. But Erek was better.

"I -"

_Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_

Mrs McKenzie was interrupted by the insanely loud fire bell.

_Yes!_

A lot of students began screaming and I heard the echoing of feet stamping all around me.

"Remain calm!" Mrs McKenzie called, "everybody to the school oval. Move, move, move!" the stamping lead away from me.

I think I heard Mrs McKenzie muttered something under her breath as she walked off too. Something like Daken or Dapsen. Whatever the heck that means.

When the hallway was silent I opened my eyes and Erek helped me up.

"Claustrophobic," I said, grinning, "nice one."

Erek laughed, "It wasn't all me. You did a pretty good job too. I mean, it must have been exhausting lying down like that!" I laughed and gave him playful nudge.

"Come on, we should probably make sure Marco hasn't got caught by Chapman or anything," Erek said.

&

Well, it turned out Marco was fine. In fact, when we found him he was trying to hit on some blond, popular girl and was in the middle of getting rejected.

"Kerry! It's all a misunderstanding!" he claimed, chasing after her, "Call me!"

Erek gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head. Marco turned around.

"Oh I didn't see you there Tedahko!" Marco said, "Don't worry, there's plenty or Marco to go around!"

I made a fake gagging noise.

"So Marco, everything went according to plan?" Erek asked.

"Oh yeah," Marco said, "I found the alarm button, smashed the glass, pushed, ran for dear life -"

He silenced as Chapman walked by.

"You know the rest," Marco said, "Anyway, I have to go and watch some daytime trash TV."

&

Soon we arrived home. I entered my room and froze. There, sitting on my bedside table, was the same alarm clock I had smashed into pieces this morning. My mouth flung open. I looked under my bed. The pieces were gone.

"Creepy," I muttered to myself.

"Erek," I called down the hallway, "have you been in my room lately?"

"No," he called back, "what, has something gone missing?"

"Uh, never mind."

I walked over to stare face to face with the alarm clock, the one who had somehow managed to repair itself.

"I'm watching you," I whispered, before walking down stairs to the office.

What I did in the next hour wasn't overly interesting. I searched the Internet, trying to find an origin of my name. Of course, I didn't end up finding it. This depressed me somewhat, and made me wonder why my parents gave me such a weird, gibberish name. I mean, come on. There has to have somebody else in the world with the name "Tedahko" right? The closest thing I found was Tedak Siten, which was some kind of Javanese ritual/festival thing. But that still left out the a, h, and o. Well, I put these together to form the word "aho," and after a bit of research I found it was one of the many words for "idiot" in Japanese. Perfect. Tedak Aho. Festival Idiot.

I sighed and gave up and just as I was about to exit the office, the phone rang. I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hello. Is that you Tedahko?"

I recognized that voice. It was Mr Crosby, my mother's lawyer.

"Oh, uh, hi," I said awkwardly.

"Good news Tedahko. We found the file of your distant relative."

"Oh, that's great!" I exclaimed. It was the first time I had felt a tiny bit of happiness in the last hour.

"So, uh, who is it?" I asked.

"Well, its a bit of a long story," he said. A long story? What did he mean by that?

"Maybe you would like to come around to the office at about 1:30 ish to discuss the matter?"

"Oh yeah! Of course!" I said.

"Okay Tedahko, goodbye."

"Bye." And with that I hung up. I had family! WOHOOOO!

_You don't know that yet, _said my subconscious.

"Argh," I said aloud, "I thought I got rid of you."

_What made you think it would be so easy?_

I shrugged, "well, uh, I don't know."

My subconscious didn't reply.

&

"Uh oh. Tedahko is cooking. Nothing good can become of this," Erek laughed.

I grinned as I poured noodles into a pot, "What do you mean by that?" I demanded. Erek raised his eyebrow and gave me a you-know-why look.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already!" Erek said with a dramatic gasp.

"Uh, in case you haven't noticed Erek, I'm not an android so I can't remember every little detail like you do," I said.

"When you were five," he said, "you wanted to cook the mud cake that you made out of real mud on something. You sneaked into the teacher's room and fired up the stove. You set the entire kitchen alight."

There was a long silence.

I frowned.

"Remember?" Erek asked.

"No," I lied.

Erek sighed, "Don't worry, I'm sure it was just some _other _kid. So why are you cooking anyway?"

"My mom's lawyer found the file for my distant relative," I said happily.

"Thats awesome!" Erek said, "So who is it?"

"Crosby didn't tell me. He wants me to come in at 1:30pm."

Erek smiled, "Well, I'm happy for you Teh," he said, "I hope everything works out okay."

"Thanks," I said, "me too."

&

I walked along the street and into a park. Apparently it was some kind of shortcut to the lawyers office, if I just kept on walking straight through. I looked up in the sky and saw a Red Tailed Hawked flying through the sky with ease. The park was pretty much empty, and even if they were people around and they saw me talking to a bird, they'd probably just think I was a nut case.

"Tobias?" I asked.

(What? Just Tobias? No "Hello?")

I smiled, "Sorry. I wasn't sure if it was you or not. So where are you off to?"

(There's a mouse in the bushes left of the play equipment,) Tobias said, (You?)

"Lawyers office."

Tobias laughed, (You get sued for pushing Marco into a wall?)

"He told you about that?"

(Yeah. I spoke to him earlier. So what's really happening?)

"My mom's lawyer thinks he found a distant relative of mine," I said, "My parents aren't really around anymore and I didn't have any family left that I knew of. Until now."

(I don't really have any family left either,) Tobias said, (anyway, I wish you all the best. I had an interesting experience at that lawyers office awhile back.)

"Really?"

(Yeah. It changed my life forever.)

I was tempted to ask about his so called life changing experience, but I was running late.

"Bye Tobias."

(Bye.)

Maybe Tobias wasn't such a bad person after all. I mean, I didn't know him that well, but he didn't seem so bag. Sure, him hanging around an evil blue deer was intimidating, but I was sure he was a good person. Leaving the conversations flow through my mind, I walked out the park, down the street and into the lawyer's office.

&

My name is Tobias.

I went back for the mouse at the side of the playground. I then decided to wait for Tedahko to come out of the lawyers office. I don't know why. Maybe I was curious, maybe bored, or maybe a part of me wanted to know what drama that office had in store for Tedahko. It had uncovered something pretty interesting about my long lost father, maybe it would do something for her.

I finished my mouse (which was probably the most delicious mouse I had had all week) and caught a thermal that lifted me high into the air. I soared around the city for about half an hour, keeping an eye out for any Yeerk activity. It was pretty quite, so I went to the lawyers office to see if Tedahko had come out yet. Sure enough, she had, and was walking down the street.

I caught a rush of warm air and soared off to her left. She didn't seem to notice me. She was too displaying a disturbingly calm, neutral face, which seemed unusual for her.

I waited until we were in the park and then spoke up.

(So who's the mystery relative huh?) I asked.

Tedahko remained calm and neutral. Again, disturbing.

"Your not going to believe this," she said.

(Uh, well, depends on what it is. So who's your long lost relative?)

Her expressionless, blank face looked up at me and she said;

"_Its you."_

**A/N: MAJOR SUPER DUPER CLIFFFFFHANGER! Sorry, heh, I couldn't resist. So there you have it. Tedahko's long lost relative revealed (INSERT DRAMATIC MUSIC HERE!) I think this was a pretty good cliffhanger. Anyway, more action-packed-ness in the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who had reviewed, favourited, etc. It makes my day. If anybody has got any ideas for the next few chapters, please let me know. I'm opened to any suggestions. Also, let me know if I made any stupid grammar errors. Knowing my record I've probably made at least ten XD Like always, R&R. I shall write a new chapter soon!**


	15. Chaos at the Aquarium

Chapter 15.

_Tobias's P.O.V_

(Tobias, is something wrong?) Rachel asked me, as we soared high above the city. Though we were high up, we could still see everything on the ground. I suppose thats one of the perks of having hawk vision.

(No, why would you think that?) I asked, hoping Rachel wouldn't hear that I was lying.

(I don't know. It's just that you have been really quite ever since yesterday. Did something happen?)

**Flashback**

"_Its you."_

_  
I was in shock. I fell, down and town, tumbling towards the earth. So many thoughts in my head were messed up so many -_

"_OUCH!"_

_I hit Tedahko in the head, but quickly regained concentration and fluttered over to a nearby branch. Tedahko rubbed her head before looking over to me._

_(Tedahko, please never, ever, joke about something like that again,) I said._

"_I -" for a moment she looked hesitant, but brushed it off, "Sorry. Won't happen again." _

_She looked behind her then back at me, "I have to go." And with that, she ran off._

**End Flashback**

(No, nothing happened,) I lied. I looked down to see our destination, (Well, looks like the others beat us here.)

We swooped down into a deserted alleyway, where I morphed to human and Rachel demorphed.

We then checked behind the dumpster to find the clothes that Cassie had left for us (she got her parents to drive her) and got changed. I suppose you can't really have a bunch of kids wondering around dressed in tight Spandex, can you?

We walked around the corner to come face to face with our destination – the aquarium. Thats right, an aquarium. We had a meeting in Cassie's barn last night and everyone agreed, since the Yeerks had been pretty quiet lately, we deserved a break. Cassie had chosen the place. I think she wanted to show Ax some of earths sea creatures, though I think we have all seen way to much already. Just ask Marco. Bad experience.

"Hey guys!" Jake called out, and walked over to us.

"Hey," I greeted. As the rest of the group – Marco, Jake, Cassie and Ax – walked over to us.

"Everybody ready to go?" Jake asked.

Everybody gave out a mixed replied of "yep, yeah and yes" while Ax just said, "Yes Prince Jake, I believe I am ready observe non sentient, aquatic earth animals in artificial habitats."

Marco rolled his eyes, "Look out aquarium, here come the Animorphs."

&

I flinched awkwardly, trying to fight my temptation to dive face-first into the glass after the tasty looking fish which swam by.

"Uh, Tobias, man," Jake said, "You're drooling."

"Oh." I quickly rubbed the drool away from my mouth and tried to look as dignified as possible.

"I do not understand. Surely these creatures are not edible, are they?" Ax wondered, "Edible. Ull. Ed-iiiiible."

"Of course they're edible. Where do you think sashimi comes from?" Marco asked, before making his way over to a blond girl on the other side of the room. Ax stood there for a second, with a blank look on his face, then walked off.

"Well, looks like its just us Tobias," Jake said. Rachel and Cassie were a bit further along looking at the jellyfish exhibit.

"Yeah, looks that way."

&

After exploring the "Tropical Fish" section for a little while longer, we then headed down to the dolphin exhibit, were Cassie and Rachel were.

"Hey guys," Jake greeted. But before who could ask what was up, Casssie blurted out:

"Can you believe how cruel they're being! Keeping those poor dolphins in a such a small space!"

Cassie turned to Jake, with hope and determination glittering in her eyes.

"Oh no," Jake said, "Cassie, you are not."

"Jake, if you were enclosed in a space like that you wouldn't like it either."

Jake sighed, "Cassie -"

Cassie fixed a pleading stare on Jake. Jake sighed.

"Fine. But no more for then minutes. And please, be careful."

"Thankyou Jake!" Cassie gave Jake a quick hug then sneaked off to somewhere. Jake turned bright red and Rachel grinned. I smiled and shook my head.

Marco then walked over, looking not too happy with himself.

"The only girl's number I ever get has to be given to me by some some geek chick in glasses!" he complained.

"Don't be so judgmental," Rachel said angrily, "She was probably the best you could of got."

"Don't you know Rachel? Guys don't dig girls who where glasses."

"Yeah, and girls don't dig guys with fat asses."

"Okay guys! Break it up!" Jake said, making an attempt to separate them.

"Wheres Ax?" I asked. I hadn't seen him in half an hour. Surely he couldn't of got far.

"I saw him when Cassie and I were back at the Jellyfish exhibit," Rachel said, "haven't seen him since."

"Okay, us three will go off and look for Ax. Tobias, you stay here in case he comes back and keep a close eye on Cassie in case anything goes wrong. Got it?"

"No problem," I replied.

"Okay," Jake said and he, Rachel and Marco went off to search for Ax. Not long after they had left, I was approached by Cassie.

"I thought you were going to -" I began.

Cassie sighed, "The whole thing was guarded by staff. I ended up scribbling them a note on the wall instead." No doubt what Cassie wrote on the wall. Probably something like "WE NEED BIGGER CAGES!" or "We don't like being in tiny spaces!"

Cassie looked around, "Where are the others?"

"They went off to look for Ax who wandered off somewhere," I explained.

Cassie laughed, "He always seems to wonder off, doesn't he?"

"Yeah."

Just over to the side, there was a small cafe built into the wall of the aquriam. I suppose over all the money people cough up for tickets they still want them to pay over-priced amounts for food.

"Tobias, are you hungry?" Cassie asked.

"Uhh," I stuttered, "To be honest, I skipped breakfast."

"Let's go and get something then," Cassie said.

We walked over to a table. Cassie ordered me a small chips while she just drank from a bottle of water (who knows how she feels like drinking when she's surrounded by water...)

"Tobias, are you okay?" Cassie asked. Great, the second person to ask today.

"Uh. Yeah, I guess."

"You just have seemed quite since yesterday," Cassie said, "what happened?" Cassie has this sort of way where she can just make people open up. I tried to resist it, but in the end, I gave in. I told Cassie about yesterday, about what Tedahko had said.

"I see," Cassie said, "you just presumed she was joking?"

I nodded, "Yeah, its not like she was telling the truth."

"Tedahko is a bit... unusual. But I don't think she would be that hurtful."

"So your saying that shes telling the truth?" I asked.

Cassie shrugged, "I'm not sure Tobias. She could be lying, she could be telling the truth. I suppose the only way to know is to ask her."

I sighed, "I suppose thats my only option. But I doubt it. I mean, can't be related. We look nothing alike." I was right there. I had dirty blond, messy hair while Tedahko had brown hair with streaks of bronze and brown eyes. We looked nothing alike.

Suddenly, we were approached by Ax.

"Ax, where have you been?" I demanded, "We've been looking for you."

"I am sorry Tobias," Ax apologized, "I was busy sampling many of Earth's fine delicacies."

Cassie stared at Ax, as if examining him, "Ax, is that fish food on your lip?"

"Oh, so this is what this such vibrant flavor is called! Fish food! Ooood. Isssh, foooodah."

"Hah, well at least he didn't eat any of the fish from the displays."

Silence.

"Did you Ax?"

"I sampled the most delicious of all! I believe the sign called it "Parapterois."

Cassie paused, "Uh oh."

"Uh oh what?" I asked.

"Parapterois. Its a breed of Lion Fish."

"Wait, those venomous fish with the big quills?"

And before Cassie could reply, Ax fell face first into my bowl of chips.

&

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

The city. The horrible stench of petrol stations. Noisy traffic. Gum on every stairway. Not my choice of place to live. But, I suppose for a day it wasn't going to hurt. Basically the reason I was here was because Erek _insisted _that I should see the city. After all, I had seen most of the town already. The city wasn't very exciting. It looked exactly like every other city I had been in.

"Isn't the most exciting city, huh?" I said.

Erek laughed, "You'd be surprised. You should see the Robotics Center."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why? Do they have another one of those bar-tending robots that you see in those science magazines?

"Uh yeah, they do."

I sighed, "I swear, if I see another one of those things I'm gonna go insane. I mean, what if they malfunction or something and drench you in Scotch On The Rocks?"

"Hey! I can bartend you know! I was one back in 1908."

"Oh. Sorry."

Erek just laughed, "Don't worry about it. It wasn't as bad as the position my dad had."

"What position?"

"I don't think he'd want me to tell you."

"I probably don't want to know then," I replied. Up ahead I spotted a big blue sign which said "The Aquarium."

I remembered the last time I went to the aquarium. It was in 2nd grade. Come to think of it, I think Erek was with me then. These stupid little kids were giving me a hard time throwing comments at me like "You're uglier than puffer fish!" Believe it or not, I was a sensitive little kid back then and burst out in tears. I remembered Erek telling them off. I believe his exact words were "Well you're more uglier-er than a pufferfish!" Of course, he would of known that uglier-er wasn't a real word, he was probably just trying to act like a normal seven year old kid. I grinned at this, wondering if I should bring up this memory. My smile soon faded as I thought it was probably best not idea.

"You wanna go the the aquarium huh?" Erek asked.

"Huh?" I said snapping out of my day dream, "What makes you think that?"

"Uh, only that you were staring at it for over twenty seconds straight without blinking. Zoned out again?" he asked.

"Yeah, looks that way."

"So the aquarium, how about it?"

"Sure. But wouldn't it be expensive?"

"Well," Erek said, then lowering his voice down to a whisper, "Let's just say I know an android who knows an android..."

I grinned, "free admission?"

"Free admission."

&

Erek's P.O.V **(A/n: YIPEEEE!)**

Okay, so going to the aquarium probably wasn't the most exciting thing I have done. I've been to the aquarium plenty of times in this life and other lives and even over the hundreds of years, it hasn't seemed to have changed much. I walked by the fish tank containing "Angel Fish" and tried to look interested, which was easier said than done considering I had seen angel fish hundreds of times before. Of course, I wasn't here to skip about and coo about how pretty all the fishies were like some three year old child. I was here because I wanted to spend time with Teh.

To say the least, Teh had been acting very strange lately. I mean, shes had a lot going on. Her parents are dead, she just found her best friends an android and that earth is being invaded by aliens and in a way I suppose she is kind of isolated. Her being the last user of magic and all. But something about her today just seemed sad. Maybe I was just imagining things, but still, it worried me all the same. I thought about asking her directly about why she was so sad, but I knew it probably wouldn't work. I think she has problems opening up to people. She just is way to stubborn in some situations and would refuse to speak about/pretend she had no idea what I was talking about.

The drama event for incidence. I could tell she was uncomfortable with it, and I understand why. But what I don't understand is why she can't just tell me she doesn't want to do it. I wouldn't think of her as any less of a person. Maybe I would have to talk to her about this later...

I looked over my left to see Tedahko staring into a puffer fish tank and frowning. I walked up behind her.

"The puffer fish incident. Grade two right?"

Tedahko's frown grew bigger, "Dammit Erek. How come you have to remember everything?"

"At least you weren't the one who _had_ to use the word "uglier-er" to fit in," I pointed out.

"Ah, I'm sure you've been through worse," she said.

Okay, so maybe I had been through worse. In fact, a lot worse.

Tedahko then moved over to the angel fish tank. I had of course already been there, so I decided to walk around the corner to look at the dolphins while the would just stare blankly into the tank and seem miles away.

I walked around the corner and looked at the dolphin tank. It was pretty small for a dolphin tank. Really small actually. Not suitable living conditions for the poor dolphins either. The tank was pretty dirty. I made a reminder to myself to report this later. I turned around and continued my walk around the corner when I came to a cafe. At one table was three people I recognize. Tobias, Cassie and Ax. Hmm, well, maybe somebody else had the same idea. I couldn't hear what they were saying from here. All of a sudden, Ax fell face first into a bowl of chips. I mean, I knew he was obsessed with food, I just didn't know that it was this much. I then saw something sweep across Tobias and Cassie's face. It wasn't amusement either. It was pure terror.

Then I realised that this wasn't just an event where Ax was lacking table manners. That something had gone terribly wrong. I did a quick scope of the hall. Empty except for a granny looking at a tropical fish display. Then I ran quickly over to the table they were at (and when I say run, I mean at about 80 miles an hour.)

Quickly I projected a hologram around the table, one of a lady with two younger children and stepped inside before anybody could notice.

"Erek!" Cassie said. For a second relief washed over her face but was soon gone.

"Ax, you have to demorph!" Tobias said.

Ax, who was still face first in a bowl of chips, let out a moan.

"I can...not...Tobias.. they will see...me."

"Know they won't, Erek is here."

Ax began to demorph. At about the same moment, Tedahko came walking down the hall. Oh no! I forgot! Tedahko would probably think I had ditched her or something. Or maybe she would just presume I had walked even further ahead.

(I shall remorph to human,) Ax said while fully Andalite.

"Okay Ax, do that," Cassie said.

And at that moment...

"Andalite!" a voice hissed. All four heads shot around to a middle aged lady dressed in janitors clothes who had somehow managed to walk through my hologram.

Then...

_BANG!_

The lady fell down to the ground with a thud.

"Oh.. oops," said a voice. I looked up to see Tedahko holding a crowbar.

"Tedahko! Uh... where did you get a crowbar?"

Tedahko frowned, "I don't know myself."

Ax wasn't wasting any time, and was continued to morph to human.

"How did you know we were here?"

"I didn't," she admitted, "one of the little kids in your hologram stuck a tongue out at me. I wasn't going to hurt him, just give him a scare while his mother was turned around. Then somehow I lost control of the crowbar... which just... appeared and then I actually hit him."

Tedahko chuckled, "Good thing it wasn't a real kid."

She then stared at the person lying at her feet, "Uh, did I knock out anybody important?"

"No," I said, "not really."

"Phew."

&

Everything that day ended up fine. The Animorphs got out of the aquarium safely, Ax didn't dare attempt to eat another lion fish (Cassie told me what happened) and basically everything had a happy ending. There was two things that bothered me though. While projecting a hologram, I have full control over what appears. I didn't make any one of the kids stick a tongue out at Teh. And also, if she didn't find the crowbar to herself...

_then who did?_

**A/n: All done. Its late where I am, so this is only going to be a short A/n. Anyway, I hope everybody enjoyed having an Erek's P.O.V in there. Sorry if it seemed a bit OOC or anything like that. Hopefully I'll get better. Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers who review and inspire me to keep on writing. Also, as this is not beta read, please inform me of any stupid mistakes I have made. I also need a name for a new male, temporary/minor character in the story. If anybody has any name suggestions (It'll be best if the name has some quality of uniqueness to it) please let me know. I'll give you credit. Anyway, its late, so goodnight.**


	16. Shelter

**A/n: If anybody out there is confused about what happened with the crowbar, don't be. It isn't meant to make sense. But anyway, heres the non-complicated version of what happened: Tedahko was walking past when some kid in Erek's hologram supposedly poked a tongue out at her. Obviously, this really ticked Tedahko of so when the mother turned around she was going to sneak up the kid and to pretend to wack him with something, just to give him a good scare. And then, well, a crowbar appeared in her hands (somehow, I'm not telling you yet XD) thus knocking out the human controller. Phew, confusing. Anywho, since the name "Spencer" was the only name suggested, and does have a pretty cool ring to it, I think I'll stick to that name. Thankyou vintageumbrella for coming up with the name.**

Chapter 16

Not much happened in the next week. Everything just went on as normal (as normal as things can get anyway...) and everybody went about there own business. I didn't see that much of the Animorphs, besides a lame joke every now and again from Marco in class and a casually hi from Cassie and Rachel in the hallway. I hadn't been sitting with them for the past week. I don't know, maybe I just get the feeling that they still aren't sure about me.

"I'm going to pull out of the play," Erek said all of a sudden. I nearly coughed on a piece of mystery meat.

"What?! I mean, why?" I demanded.

"Because I can see you aren't comfortable with it," he said.

"Not comfortable? Why would you think that?"

"Uh, maybe because when we plan to rehearse you always make up the same story each time about how we're out of milk and you need to rush to the shops to by some."

"It's not an excuse!" I said.

Awkward silence.

"I mean..."

"But you know, it would be pretty awkward huh though? I mean, us being best friends and all," Erek said. Leave it to Erek to be straight forward about something.

I scanned my mind for something to say. Anything.

_Think!_ I said to myself.

"I mean, I wouldn't want you to get bad grades or anything because you pulled out of the play Erek. You shouldn't have to get bad grades because of me..."

"Don't worry about it," he said, "If I get a D, then thats that. I just don't want you to feel forced into something that you don't want to be doing."

Before I could reply, Erek said, "Well, I'm going to get some books out of my locker before History. See ya."

"Bye."

_I can't believe you're still denying it, _said my subconscious once Erek had left.

_Oh crap, I thought I got rid of you!_

_No you didn't._

_Damn. And just so you know, theres nothing to deny_, I thought.

_Oh really? If there was nothing to deny, how come you feel this situation is so awkward? I mean, if you were just best friends, a play would be a play right? It wouldn't mean anything else._

_Exactly. It doesn't mean anything. I mean, if Erek doesn't want to do it, then thats fine._

My subconscious didn't reply, but I could of sworn I heard an exasperated sigh in one of the corners of my mind.

&

School had ended and I was cramming books in my locker which I wouldn't need, as I had no homework on the subject for the day.

"Amy! Come back! When I said you smelt I meant you smelled beautiful!" I turned my head just in time to see Marco chasing brunette girl, before giving up and stopping right in front of my locker.

"Is that all you do with your life? Chase girls?" I asked as I shut my locker.

"Oh now now, we know that isn't true," Marco said, "I also spend the remainder of my time being amazingly charming."

I let out a loud cough.

"I need to talk to you," he said, lowering his voice.

"If you're going to ask me out, the answer is no," I replied.

Marco gave a fake hurt look, "Me? Ask you out? Okay, well, maybe I was but anyway..." he lowered his tone to a whisper, "Cassie's barn. 5:00pm. Can you make it?"

I nodded, "Yeah, okay."

"And one more thing..."

"The answer is no Marco."

Marco frowned, "Well, it was worth a try," he said before walking off.

&

Okay, so 5:00pm. So I still had about two hours to waste. What do I do? Go to Taco Bell. I didn't really have any better ideas and the local Taco Bell was just around the corner. I mean, I could of gone back to Erek's house to do my maths homework. But to be honest, I wasn't in the mood for algebra. To be blunt, I was in a pretty crap mood, and had only realized it now, as I sat in a fast food restaurant slurping down Coke. Why would Erek want to pull out of the play? I didn't want to him to get bad marks because of me...

_But I thought you would be happy Tedahko. I recall that you didn't want to do the play yourself because of the situation._

_Oh, shut up,_ I thought, knowing my subconscious had got the better of me. But was my subconscious right? I mean, I didn't want Erek to get bad grades or anything. Why couldn't I just pull out instead of him. I felt a shot of jealousy past through me. No, I couldn't do that. Not with that Britney girl in drama. She would be all over...

"Hey, uh... are you okay?"

I then realized that I was cradling my face in my hands and it must of looked like I was in some kind of pain. My head quickly shot up from its position. Staring at me with concern, I saw a boy about my age with blond hair, green eyes and slightly tanned skin, about the same color as my own.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," I lied.

Again, the boy looked at me with concern, as if he could tell I was lying. And then, he sat down opposite me. My mind screamed for me to run away, to find an excuse to leave. Because let's face it, I wasn't in the best mood and didn't really feel like being around anybody at the moment. It was bad enough I had to see the Animorphs later.

"Bad day huh?" he asked.

"You could say that," I said, avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah, well, I haven't exactly had the best day either," he said, "I just moved here. I'm Spencer."

"I'm Teh," I said.

"Interesting name," he commented, "is it short for something?"

"Yeah. But I'm not telling," I said.

"Okay, that's fine."

He looked outside the window, which was to the left of the booth we were sitting in.

"I have to go. My aunts here to pick me up. Maybe I'll see you around some time?"

"Yeah, maybe."

And with that, Spencer walked out of the restaurant. Okay, so maybe he wasn't such a bad person. In a way, I kind of felt sorry for him. I mean, I had been in a pretty bad mood, and hadn't even made an effort to seem the least bit friendly to the poor kid. But maybe if he knew the situation I was in, he wouldn't blame me. Maybe. The thing was, nobody knew the situation I was in. Nobody understood.

&

_Marco's P.O.V_

"You're late," I said as Tedahko walked into the barn, soaking wet from the afternoon shower, and five minutes late.

"Yeah, well sorry, but I didn't have the enthusiasm to shape shift. I came via broom." In her hands, Tedahko held a broom stick.

I let out a loud laugh, "sure, you came by broom. What are you, a witch now?"

(She is a Nishkak,) Ax said harshly, (she can not be trusted.)

"Hey, not just witches fly brooms," she said.

(You lie. It is not possible to fly on a primitive made human device used to clean solid surfaces.)

"Yeah, just like aliens don't exist."

Ax went silent.

"So why am I here?" Tedahko spoke up, looking pretty impatient.

"We need your help," Jake said, "of course, only if you agree."

"It would depend on what the help involves," she said, narrowing her eyes, "Cos you know, I still get the feeling that you don't trust me."

"You expect us to trust you?" I demanded, "theres no such thing as magic. And I for one, bet ten bucks that broom doesn't fly. Stop playing fairytale dress us."

"I have to agree with Marco on this one," Rachel said. Tedahko gave a disappointed look. "I mean, I stopped believing in magic when I was five."

For a second Tedahko looked furiously, an expression I had seen many times from her. From when she bashed me into the wall for instance.

The she said, "ten bucks Marco?"

She took that seriously? Okaaaaaaay. Well, it would be my gain anyway.

"Yeah," I said.

"You sure?"

I crossed my fingers and hoped she was bluffing, "Oh, is there anything I'm not sure about?"

She grabbed the broom stick and put it in the air. And it stayed there. We all froze. Even Tobias's normally fierce hawk gaze seemed to look shocked. She then jumped on the broom, and went zipping to the other side of the barn, where she got off the broom.

"Would that be in cash or check Marco?"

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Rachel.

(I do not believe I understand this "crap" word. What is it's purpose?) Ax wondered. I was surprised he didn't cough out some Nishkak comment rather than being more fascinated by English swear words.

"Well, I never stopped believing," Cassie said with a small laugh.

Tobias remained silent in the rafters. Ever since yesterday, something about the bird-boy has seemed more off than usual. I don't know. He just seemed more... depressed. As for me, I like comedy. Nothing depresses Marco the ol' mighty.

"Well, cash or check?" Tedahko asked again.

"I'll get it to you by tomorrow," I muttered.

"Can we get back to the subject?" Jake asked.

"Okay, so you need me to help. What kind?"

We then explained our plan about how the Visser himself was to be appearing at a Sharing convention in the town hall in the city. Our plan – gatecrash. And what did we need Tedahko for? Mind control. Okay, so I doubted she could do that. Maybe her broom could fly, but mind control – no. But apparently Ax hand been "mind controlled," so that was good enough for Jake. So our plan was to get Tedahko to get mind control over Visser Three (the actual Yeerk slug's) head. I mean, apparently she had done it to Ax, and he was an alien. So we were hoping she would have just as good luck with this.

"Uh, just a question, but do you have any idea how hard mind controlling is?" Tedahko asked, "I could pass out from doing it. Let alone it takes me ages to even find the right mind in a room full of them."

"You can fight," Rachel said, "Remember? You countered Ax's tail perfectly." I sax Ax's tail twitch at that. Oh yeah, those two were best friends.

"But up against twenty, maybe thirty Hork-Bajir?" Cassie asked.

"She'd get shredded," I said darkly. Tobias remained quite in the rafters, but I knew he was listening carefully.

"Theres always..." Cassie said before stopping herself, "No. We can't. Not after what happened with David."

"Yeah, we aren't taking that chance again," Jake agreed, "Tedahko, is there other animal you can shapeshift into?"

"Uhhh..." she said, "No. Would that be a problem?"

"Oh, only that you would get shredded by walking lawn mowers of death," I said cheerfully.

"The tall green, demon thingys with blades? Hah, I took them down easily. Remember what happened at the ship?

"But there was only about fifteen on the ship," Rachel pointed out, "No offense, but against twenty, thirty Hork-Bajir you wouldn't stand a chance."

We all sighed glumly in defeat.

"I could always try to learn to shape shift into a different animal," Tedahko said, "something more powerful."

"That could work," Jake said, "Theres three days until The Sharing conference so -"

"Hold up! Three days?" Tedahko demanded, "Do you have any idea how long it look me to learn how to shape shift to crow?"

Nobody replied.

"Three hundred hours. Not counting resting, sleeping or eating."

"Well," I said, "That scraps that idea."

"I could always try I guess..." Tedahko muttered to herself, "I mean, I'd have to skip school and stuff, but I could just tell them I was sick or something."

"Well, I think you should at least try," Cassie said, "If you can't, then thats okay. We'll find an alternative."

"Okay, so Tedahko tries to shape shift into a different animal. Meanwhile, we'll prepare. Okay?"

We all agreed (Well, Ax said he would follow his prince, but I didn't think get actually agreed...) and went our separate ways for the rest of the day.

&

_Erek's P.O.V_

It was yet another boring day of school. Sitting in a class room, learning things you have already been taught, and listen to people whine about how they can't get a date to the prom or how mean their teacher is. Yeah, high school life is glamorous. It was times like these when I wanted to trade places with Lourdes.

Tedahko had stayed home today. She said she was sick and didn't want to come out of her room or something. I was a bit worried about that. I mean, she didn't even come down stairs for breakfast. I was wondering if I should have stayed back with her. If she was that sick I didn't want her to be by herself.

Right now, however, I was in Home Economics. Cooking to be exact. I didn't really know anybody in this class. Except Marco, that is.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Marco screamed as the blender went out of control and swirled across the bench like a hose without a holder. Great, the second time in a fortnight. Quickly, I ran for the switch and yanked the cord out. At the time, I didn't think to simply just turn out the power than yank the cord out. I didn't know the effects it would have.

The cord came flying out of the socket then came in contact with my hand. A dropped my hologram for a millisecond.

Our Home Ec teacher, Mr Graham, looking at me for a second and blinked. Uh oh.

"Erek what just..." he thought a moment and then laughed, "I must have had too much coffee on my break. For a second there you looked like some kind of robot." He laughed to himself and walked off.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry dude," Marco whispered.

"It's okay," I said, "Nobody else seemed to notice."

I suddenly felt eyes lay rest on me. I turned around slowly to see a kid I hadn't seen before. He had blond hair, green eyes and slightly tan skin. He quickly looked away, and turned his attention back to what he was originally doing. Hmmm. Weird.

&

My walk home from school was pretty ordinary. I did happen to see one thing unusual though. It was a van with the letters "NSA" on the side. The truck didn't really look like something the National Security Agency would use, so I just guessed that the guy who owned it painted the letters on the side so he could frighten other people out of their parking spots.

I arrived to home. My dad was still at work, and the house was quite. I then remembered Tedahko might still possibly been in her room and went upstairs to knock on her door.

"Teh, I'm home. Can I come in?"

No answer.

"Teh?"

Again, no answer.

I decided to just go in, because obviously if she wasn't replying, then something was wrong. I secretly prayed as I opened the door that she wasn't getting changed.

But when I opened the door, I didn't see that. Instead, I saw Tedahko sitting in front of a stack of old books. She was in a position as if she was meditating or something. He face was red and I could of sworn I saw tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Teh!" I shouted, running up to her. Her eyes opened and her dark, hazel eyes made contact with mine.

"I'm learning how to shape shift into another animal," she said with a small smile. Her voice seemed tired. "But I'm exhausted. I've been trying since last night."

"Since last night?!" I demanded, "But that means you haven't had sleep for twenty or so hours!"

All of a sudden, stood up but stumbled forward. Luckily, I caught her before she collided with anything.

"I don't need you protecting me Erek," she said.

"Tedahko, stop being an idiot. I don't care whether you like it or not, I'm _going _to protect you. You're my friend."

There was a silence and I looked at Teh. She looked like a mess.

"Teh, whats wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, as I saw fresh tears start to form in the corner of her eyes and start roll down her cheeks.

There was silence, and she ran up to me, throwing her arms around me. Her face pressed against my shoulder.

"_Everything,"_ _she whispered._

**A/N: Well, thats another chapter taken care of. The end of this one was a bit dramatic and over-emotional, but I suppose every story needs at least one like that. You'll find out why Tedahko is so upset in the next chapter. Credit goes to Vintageumbrella for naming the character Spencer. Oh and, -Spoiler!- Spencer is hiding something. But I'm not tell. Heh. Okay well, review please everyone. It would make me very happy. And please point out errors in this chapter that I have made. Because I'm lazy and do an awful job of proof reading XD Hope you enjoyed this chapter! PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. Spencer

**A/n: Thank you everyone who reviewed/criticized. You have made my day a lot happier XD This chapter is pretty long.**

Chapter 17

_Erek's P.O.V_

It was the next day and me and Teh were walking to school. The state that I had seen her in last night had scared me. To say the least, she was an absolute mess and couldn't stop crying. She wouldn't talk to me about it and eventually fell asleep on my shoulder. I was surprised that she even got up the next morning, after seeing how tired she was the night before. I had asked her this morning if she was okay, and she said she was fine and that learning shape-shifting just took a lot of energy off her and that it was all to do with her helping the Animorphs bring down Visser Three. But I couldn't help but get the feeling there was a lot more to this than just that. I've known Tedahko ever since she was little and I knew she would never put herself in that kind of danger.

Tedahko looked off in the distance, looking spaced out.

"Teh, are you okay?"

She snapped out of her daydream and her dark hazel eyes looked back at me.

"I've already told you, I'm fine. I'm just..." she yawned and rubbed some sleep from her right eye, "a bit tired."

"No, your not fine. What's going on?" I demanded, before lowering my voice, "We all hate the Yeerks, okay. But don't lie to me, I know you wouldn't put yourself in danger just to help the Animorphs with this mission."

"Erek, I -"

I gave her a hard stare and she sighed.

"Fine, you really want to know?" she demanded, her voice sounding furious, "They killed my parents. And I'm going to do what ever I can to destroy them."

My expression softened. Tedahko looked me directly in the eye, trying to see my reaction.

She let out a gasp as she realized the truth.

"You knew, didn't you?"

I nodded, "Yes, I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Please try to understand. I wanted to tell you, but if I did, well, it would of lead to other things too. I would have had to tell you about earth being invaded by aliens, how me and my "father" were androids..."

Tedahko sighed wearily and there was a long silence.

"I'm sorry," I said.

She kept her head straight forward, not looking at me, "Don't be."

She then turned her head to look at me and laughed, "Dam Erek, where would I be without you?" And with that, she hugged me. She didn't anything more for the next minute. But she didn't need to. She was my best friend, and that was all I needed know.

&

We walked into the school hall. There was only about ten minutes until the bell was going to ring, so Tedahko was quickly cramming books in and out of her locker. She then came across a folded piece of paper. She opened it and ten bucks fell out. Teh grinned. She unfolded the piece of paper, then frowned.

"What is it?" I asked, as I peered over her shoulder.

**Heres your ten bucks. Seriously, from now on I'm going to have a respect for brooms.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Marco the Magnificent**

**(PS: Will you go out with me?)**

I laughed and Teh gave me a dirty look.

"Its not funny!" she protested.

"Oh yeah, of course not. Sorry," I said, and quickly wiped the smile off my face – but cracked up again. Tedahko gave me a disapproving, scowling look and then sighed with exasperation.

The bell rang and we headed off to our respective class.

&

First up was maths. However, my normal maths teacher was away today, so we got merged with Miss Thomson's class. In other words, the class Tedahko was in. I also thought Rachel was in this class, but wasn't sure. Luckily, the class was pretty big and had a lot of desks. I sat down in the vacant one next to Teh. On the other side of her sat the boy that I really, really hoped hadn't seen me drop my hologram in home ec yesterdaay.

"Why is your class here?" Tedahko asked.

"Teachers sick. They couldn't find anyone to take her class, so we had to merge."

"Well, you didn't miss much," she said, "only revision on long devision." She paused. "Hey, that rhymes!"

She then gestured over to the boy on her left, "Oh yeah, Erek, this is Spencer. Spencer, this is my friend, Erek."

"Hey, nice to meet you!" Spencer said. I didn't sense any hesitation in his voice, to I figured he probably didn't see me drop my hologram.

"Nice to meet you too," I replied. I was going to ask Teh where she knew this kid from, but decided against it. It was probably none of my business.

"Mr Walter's class, you may continue on with the work set by your teacher. Now where are we up to?"

But before anyone could reply, Mrs Thomson put her hand against her head, and leaned on the side of the desk.

"Mrs Thomson, are you okay?" asked some student at the back.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she muttered, "Just a headache..."

The students went on quietly with there work before Mrs Thomson let out a scream.

"Yeerk! Get out of my head! Get out of my head!" she screamed. All the students were horrified.

"Whats happening? Whats going on?" was the question that many of them muttered. Even Tedahko looked horrified. Rachel was up the back of the room too. She wasn't horrified, I knew that. But she had to try and fit in, so nobody would be suspicious. In fact, the only person who didn't look horrified was Spencer. He sat there, calm almost, taking in the atmosphere around him. He looked around quickly before reaching into his bag and pulling something out – a phone. He quickly dialed the number, waited and spoke into it. Maybe he was calling the police or something? No, he wasn't calling the police. He was probably one of them too.

"Get out of my head!" Mrs Thomson screamed again, "You filthy slug!"

There was then silence. Mrs Thomson twitched awkwardly.

"I'm going to take the rest of the day off..." she muttered before walking out of the room.

&

The next class was drama. Since I had pulled out of the play, they needed to find someone else to play Romeo. Therefor, a lot of other people from different drama classes attended this lesson, so they could try out for the part of Romeo. Including Marco.

"In faith, I will. Let me peruse this face. Mercutio's kinsman, noble County Paris.  
What said my man, when my betossed soul. Did not attend him as we rode." Marco said.

"Next!" Miss Cruz shouted.

"But what? Why?" Marco said, "I mean, its obvious that I would make the perfect Romeo for this Juliet!"

Tedahko scowled.

"Get of the stage, loser!" some kid in the back of the room yelled.

"You do not put enough expression into your voice, Marco! Drama is not just speaking! It is an art! NEXT!"

Marco left the stage and sat down next to me. He muttered something to himself before looking at the stage. And who came on next but...

"Next we have..." Miss Cruz looked at her list. The last person.

"Spencer Brown."

Spencer. That guy that Tedahko was sitting with. Miss Cruz read out what lines they were to be doing. Great. It was the kissing scene. Tedahko looked nervous. But wait, if she was nervous, was there a possibility she actually liked this jerk? A jerk? I barely even knew him. But he could be a Yeerk, so I was really, really hoping he didn't get the part.

"Begin," said Miss Cruz.

Tedahko continued to look nervous and stared at her sheet, but she began all the same.

"What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand?  
Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end:  
O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop  
To help me after? I will kiss thy lips;  
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,  
To make die with a restorative." And with that, they... "Yeerk! Get out of my head!" screamed a voice which drifted through the window of the drama room. All the students instantly forgot about Tedahko and Spencer the jerk and ran over to the window to see Mrs Thomson getting locked in the back of a police van. Of course, they would be controller-cops. Right now I was extremely grateful to Miss Thomson. Wait, but why was I grateful? I mean, if Teh like the jerk, then I should be happy for her. But the thing was; I wasn't. &

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

At the end of the lesson, Miss Cruz just drew a name out of a hat to find out who was to be Romeo. Guess she was tired of waiting. Spencer's name came out.

I mean, Spencer is a nice guy, but I barely know him. When I was up on the stage, when we were about to kiss, all I felt was... regret? I think that was what it should be called. Regret and sorrow. But why did I feel it?

_Admit it to yourself, _My subconscious said, _You like Erek, not Spencer. Thats why you feel regret._

_Shut up! _I replied, _In fact, you can go away why you're at it._

"Beef or bacon?" asked the cranky lunch lady in the ugly looking hair net.

I looked at my options. The beef looked like mud slop, and the bacon looked like a lot of curled up band aids. Yuck.

"Uhh..." I said, "Actually, I think as from now I'm going to go vegetarian." I walked to the next spot on the line when somebody pulled me out of the line.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, as I was just about to get to the dessert section and was very, very angry.

I turned to see Rachel standing there. She nudged her head to the side, indicating me to follow. We walked into a Janitor's closed.

"Tobias just came by. Ax found somebody wondering around his scoop."

"Scoop?" I asked.

"Its like a house," Rachel replied, then grinned, "feel like wagging?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

&

Up we soared, an eagle and a crow, catching a warm thermal.

"Why me?" I asked Rachel, "Why didn't you just get Jake or Cassie or someone?"

(Somebody told me you were having a bad day,) she said.

"Erek?" I asked.

(No, Marco. Why?)

"No reason," I said sheepishly.

We where silent for another six minutes.

"Rachel?"

(Mmm?) she replied.

"Have you ever.. uh, felt a way about someone, but know you shouldn't since there was no possibility that you could ever be together?"

Rachel was silent then spoke up, (Yeah. I have.)

"But what did you do about it?"

(Wait! Don't tell me you like Marco!) Rachel gasped through thought speech.

"Ewwww, heck, no!" I protested. I then noticed she had done that on purpose. Change the subject, I mean. But I didn't wonder why, I just drifted back into my daydream.

&

We soon arrived at Ax's scoop. Rachel told me to hide in the bushes nearby and let her do the talking.  
Ax had a person had some person wearing a mask cornered on the edge of his scoop, with his tail blade thingy against the guy's throat. On the floor lied a gun and a what appeared to be a note book. Okay, so it looked like this guy was possibly out to hurt himself – or go hunting for blue deer in the forest.

"Don't hurt me!" the guy in the mask said. "I wish to inform you it is against federal law to cause any harm to an NSA agent!"

I tried to stop myself from laughing. NSA agent? Suuuuuuure.

(Ax, we're here,) Rachel said in thought-speech that only me and Ax could hear, (whats the situation?)

(This human is insisting that he is a member of an organization named the NSA and that if I hurt him I would not be abiding by earth laws,) he replied.

(NSA? This wimp?) Rachel asked, (Oh, come on. Its obvious he's just some loser kid playing dress up.)

"Thats what Marco said about me," I muttered to myself as I turned back to human behind the bushes.

(Have you brought along Prince Jake as I requested, Rachel?) Ax asked.

(Yeah, about that. Jake was... busy. So I brought Tedahko along.)

Though I was behind the bushes, I could still see Ax stiffen.

(You bought along the Nishkak?)

I felt like calling out "DAM RIGHT SHE DID!" But I knew it wasn't appropriate, as Rachel had told me to keep quiet. So I just pointed the rude finger at him from behind the bushes, knowing my effort would of gone to waste whether he had seen me or not. Because, lets face it; if he had seen me he wouldn't of known what the rude finger would of meant anyway.

(So what action should we take into this situation?) Ax asked, continuing to keep a close eye on the so called NSA agent.

(He's probably just some kid with no life. Let him go, I doubt the Yeerks would even bother with him.)

It happened in half a second. The agent jumped for the gun.

_Flash!_

Ax's tail struck and missed his head by a few inches. The agent grabbed hold of the gun and cocked it at Ax.

"I warned you," he said, "Now, whatever you are, you can surrender to the NSA peacefully or be shot."

Suddenly I felt something cold in my hand. I nearly jumped half a mile, hoping that it wasn't a snake or anything like that. But when I looked down, all I saw was a crowbar.

I leaped.

_BANG!_

I wacked the agent in the back of his ankle. He fell down, dropping the gun, then quickly made a run for it, leaping all the way home.

Rachel demorphed and came out of her spot in the bushes. "A crowbar? Where did you find that?"

"Uh... I don't know," I admitted, "it kind of appeared."

(I do not approve of the dark magic you are using, even if it is in our favor, Nishkak,) Ax said.

"Hey Ax, last time I checked, Andalites were all based upon knowledge and logic and all that crap," Rachel said, "If you're the same, why do you even believe that Tedahko is some kind of witch, anyway?"

(My people do not have any particular strong religious beliefs, Rachel. But we do have records of beings using dark magic. It is not that I believe this, as it is considered archaic by society today. But if there was a possibility of it being true... the Nishkak can't be trusted."

I frowned, "If I can't be trusted, if I had it in for you, how come I rescued your but from that cop at the mall a few days back?"

Rachel looked slightly confused, but more angry if anything.

"He was going to use marijuana for flower arranging," I explained simply.

(I am grateful for that Nishkak, but I can not give you my thanks, as I know that you can not be trusted.)

I sighed, "it was worth a try."

Rachel and I then walked over to examine the notepad the guy had left behind, finding some very interesting things inside.

"**NSA Trainee Objective List****"** Was the title on the first page.

"Oh boy," Rachel said, rolling her eyes, "this guy is delusional." I kept on reading.

**1. Investigate alien sightings in given area.**

**2. Investigate sightings of wild animals roaming unusual habitats.**

"That would be us," Rachel said.

**3. Find explanation behind psychotic breakdowns of individuals in area.**

**4. Report cafeteria food for high levels of dangerous acids.**

I laughed, "On number four he might have a point." But the last one is what really gave me a chill up my spine.

_**5. Keep a close eye on Erek King.**_

**A/N: Wooooohooooooo! Another chapter done! Oh, and don't worry. Spencer isn't going to end up being a more important character than Erek XD Nobody could be more important than Erek LOL. Regarding Erek and Teh doing the play? Well, you'll just have to wait and see what happens... its going to start getting really interesting...**

**Oh, on another note, I'm thinking about re-rating this story T. I would like to hear your everyone's opinion on this. Read and review please! And of course, constructive criticism and correcting is always greatly appreciated. Hope you liked the chapter! I'll start on the next one soon.**


	18. Mission Day

**A/n: Hi everybody! Don't worry, I'm still alive. Sorry I was so late getting this chapter up. Oh yeah, and thank you to everybody who reviewed. You have brightened my day! And don't think that I don't read your reviews just because I don't reply, because I really do enjoy reading them XDAlso, what really annoyed me about this chapter is I had to keep on going to correct my spelling because of the differenced between Australia and American spelling. Example, we spell color as colour and realize as realise just to name a few. Anyway, this chapter doesn't overly contribute to the plot. Nup, unlike most of my other chapters, this is one of the only ones which doesn't actually end in a cliffhanger. Or "Cliffie" as I like to call it ;D Because I'm insane. Oh dam, I just stole Marcos word. Ahwell. On with the storrrrrrrrry!**

Chapter 18

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

It was Wednesday. The day that I was going on a lunatic mission that might get me killed. But you know, besides that, everything was fine.

"I still say this plan is ABSOLUTELY INSANE!" Marco complained for about the hundredth time.

"Yeah, well, you've only pointed it out to us a hundred times," Rachel said.

We were in Cassie's barn. Unfortunately The Sharing Convention was on during school time, so we all had to take the risk of wagging.

"So Tedahko, were you successful with the shape-shifting business?" Jake asked.

I nodded, "Yeah.."

I looked up at Tobias with the corner of my eye. He hadn't spoke to me since the other day. Since I had told Tobias it was _him. _I wanted to tell him. Tell him that I wasn't lying to him. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. For crying out loud, he fell from the sky when I said that! Obviously, he didn't like the idea of having a long lost distant relative. So I would continue not telling him. I mean, I wouldn't be lying if I just wasn't telling him, right?

"Uh, Tedahko?" asked Jake.

"Huh, what?!"

"You spaced out," he said.

"Oh."

Marco thought this was hilarious and started laughing, until Rachel elbowed him in the gut.

"Care to demonstrate?" Jake asked.

I nodded. I muttered the words in my mind, and hearing only the echo that returned to me. Blue energy engulfed my body as I turned into...

"A wolf?" Marco asked, "Couldn't you learn to shape shift into something more original?"

"Uh, no."

(Dark magic indeed,) Ax muttered to himself, (speaking the way humans do through a body of an animal...)

"Uh excuse me?" I asked, feeling very offended, "This is from some guy who speaks through frickin' telepathy! I thought that was impossible until about a week ago!"

"She has a point," Marco muttered, "If you ask me, we're both pretty weird..."

"You two have to stop fighting," Cassie pleaded, "what if you start fighting when we're about to take down Visser Three? Are you going to jeopardize the entire population of Earth just because you too can't get over you differences?"

"Well, I don't have a problem with him," I lied.

(Me neither,) Ax lied.

"Thats right!" Marco cooed, grinning happily, "Kiss and make up!"

Everyone shot Marco a dirty look.

"What?"

(I do not believe I would like to preform the human art of "Kissing" with this Nishkak,) Ax said.

"You do realize the Nishkak has a name, you moron," I pointed out.

"Okay! That's enough you guys!" Cassie said, stepping between us, "obviously you two can't get over you differences," she look exasperated, "let's get on with the mission."

I turned back to human and Jake began explaining the plan. When he had finished, he looked around, as if he was waiting for somebody to say something.

"Let's do it!" said Rachel.

&&&

High above the city we flew, gliding upon thermals. Of course, we were all a bit of a distance apart just in case some crazy bird watcher was watching from down below and saw something abnormal. I let the breeze rush through my feathers and carry me further towards our destination. Flying is one of the best feelings in the world. Even though I often put myself down for only being able to shape shift into a crow, at least I can shape shift into something that can fly. Seriously, I couldn't imagine my life with out flying. I absolutely love it.

_Even more than you love E---_

"AHHH!" I screamed.

(What?! Whats happening?!) Jake demanded.

(Tedahko, are you okay?!) Cassie questioned.

I took a deep breath, "Uh.. I'm fine...I just...uh...thought I saw some bird swooping me."

(Damn Jays...) Tobias muttered.

(Okay, well, along as your okay,) Jake said.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," I said, trying to hide the lying in my voice. They seemed to buy it too because nobody asked any more questions.

_I thought I got rid of you!_ I said to my subconscious.

_Oh and what made you think that? _Replied my subconscious smugly.

_Uh... I don't know... I was just hoping you were gone. Why aren't you gone?_

_Because you couldn't survive a minute without me._

_Oh yeah?_

_Yeah. _

_I don't believe that._

My subconscious decided not to reply.

&&&

We landed a few blocks away from the convention hall in a deserted alleyway. Everybody demorphed (except for Tobias, who was already in his natural form.) I looked at them curiously. Jake's skin turned a glossy brown color and... I turned away quickly, trying not to gag.

"Ew, gross," I complained.

"Yeah, its probably best not to watch," Marco said.

"You tell me now."

After about a minute had passed I turned around to see five cockroaches lying on the ground. There was silence. Okay, well, so maybe I had spaced out on Jake's plan just a little.

(Well?) Marco asked, (You don't expect us to walk two blocks do you?)

"Ewwww... you mean, you want me to carry you?" I demanded.

(That was the plan,) Jake said.

(Or is it too much for you to handle, Nishkak?) asked Ax smugly. Oh, I'd show him! I could totally carry cockroaches on my body while walking two blocks! Easy peasy! I looked back down at the five cockroaches sitting on the ground, looking all innocent and gross and squirmy and...

I stopped myself. There was no use thinking of how gross they were. I had to carry them two blocks, and that was that. But then again... ewwww... roaches.

_Remember why your doing this, Tedahko,_ said my subconscious. I wasn't really surprised this time. I suppose my subconscious is kind of like that. One minute you hear from it, two weeks later and theres nothing.

(Uh, Tedahko?) Rachel asked.

"Oh! Yeah! Right, sorry," I squatted down and held out my arm, letting five revolting roaches crawl up it. I felt very uncomfortable, to say the least. In fact, I felt like I was going to spew. I was kind of relieved when they crawled into the pockets of my jumper. Then I wouldn't actually be touching them.

Then I realized. Five? But, wasn't there meant to be six of them? I spun around to see a scarily pretty boy eating something from the dumpster.

"Shouldn't you be like... you know.. a roach?" I asked.

"Since you can not use thought speech, I shall be assisting you. Assisting. Ing. Ing. Ah-sis-ting-ah."

I frowned, "Lucky me," I said with sarcasm.

"Yes, you are indeed lucky, Nishkak. Without me to help you, this mission would have a more than likely chance of failure."

Apart of me wondered if this guy got the meaning of sarcasm, and a part of me was just angry.

"What do you mean failure?!" I demanded angrily, "Who says this mission would fail if I chose to do it by myself?!"

(Uh guys, I would absolutely hate to interrupt your nice little conversation, but shouldn't we be moving?) Marco asked.

"Yeah, moving..." I muttered as we began walking off.

_You shouldn't be angry at him,_ said my subconscious, _He has probably had it a lot harder than you think._

_And why would I care?_ I shot back, _he doesn't treat me respect, I don't treat him with respect. End of story._

_You're stubborn._

I frowned,_ Am not._

_And don't you have any forgiveness?_ My subconscious asked, _Maybe if you forgave him, he would forgive you._

_But there is nothing that he has to forgive me for, _I protested.

My subconscious sighed, _I don't get payed enough for this job._

At first, I wondered what my subconscious meant by that, but who am I to question myself?

_And how would this so called "forgiving" process be done? _I demanded.

_Just say you're sorry. Some people never get the chance to say it, so consider yourself grateful._

Honestly, sometimes my subconscious scared me. It was so much unlike me personality wise. Wait, my subconscious has a personality? Yeah, sure. And pig cans fly. Although... after finding out earth was being invaded by aliens, I wouldn't be surprised.

"Uh, Ax?"

"Yes, Nishkak?"

I fidgeted awkwardly.

_Easier said than done,_ I thought to myself.

"I'm sorry... about the whole mind control thing."

Ax was silent for a moment, before saying, "I am very glad that you apologized."

There was another awkward silence and Ax said, "I am also... somewhat sorry for holding my tail blade against your throat. Throat-ah. Tah. Throa-tah."

Somewhat? SOMEWHAT?! That was the best he could do?! After I apologizing my butt off, all he could be was "somewhat" sorry?

_But its better than nothing, right? _Asked my subconscious.

_No!_

_This might be the biggest apology you'd get out of him, Tedahko. Andalites can be so arrogant._

_Yeah, I guess so. _I paused, _But how do you know they're all arrogant?_

My subconscious was silent for a few moments before saying, _Uh, well... I'm guessing._

By now, I was a bit freaked out. My subconscious is a part of me, I'm meant to control what it says, the encouragement and advice it was giving me, but for awhile now it seemed as if it had a mind of its own. Meaning, I wasn't controlling it. I wasn't giving advice to myself, I wasn't talking to myself. If I wasn't talking to myself, you'd think I'd be relieved, right? It would mean that I'd be sane. But the thing was, if I wasn't the one controlling my subconscious, then who was?

&&&

After about five more minutes of Ax and I walking in the awkward silence, we approached the convention hall in where our mission was to take place.

"Uh... so... how are we going to do this again?" I asked. I wasn't really paying attention when Jake was explaining.

"The Visser shall appear at the end of the seminar in his human morph. I shall alert you when you have to pro fill your role. Maybe if you were listening to Prince Jake at the meeting, I wouldn't need to explain it to you, Nishkak."

I was a bit impressed actually. He spoke three whole sentences and didn't make weird noises or play with words even once, which I noticed he tended to do quite often. But on the other hand, I was absolutely ticked off. Why, WHY did he have to get every chance he could to make some remark about me?! I mean, I know I'm not perfect, but I don't need to be constantly reminded of it. This just added to the list on why I despised him so much.

My subconscious laughed. A rather creepy and unusual thing for my subconscious to do.

_You don't really hate him, Tedahko. In a way, you have more in common than you think._

_Fortune cookie alert. Geez, why do you always pop-up just when I'm starting to think I got rid of you?_

My subconscious was once again silent. I breathed a sigh of relief, before walking inside to the hall with Ax following close behind.

The hall was rather large, with a stage set up, and rows of chairs looking on towards it. We took a seat near the back, hoping we would go unnoticed by the huge crowd of people that was already there.

(What's happening?) Jake asked, (everything going according to plan?)

(Yes Prince Jake,) replied Ax, (so far everything is satisfactory.)

(Don't call me prince. That and inform us if anything starts to go wrong.)

(Which is probably more than likely going to happen,) Marco muttered darkly.

(Yes Prince Jake,) replied Ax. I wondered if this guy got the meaning of the word "Don't." Guess that you can't be sure when it comes to aliens.

Well, anyway, for the next twenty minutes, all we heard was some guy on the stage, blabbering on about how The Sharing "Helps people" and is "family friendly." Maybe, maybe if I was hopeless and pathetic I would join. They claimed to show you where you belong in life. Suppose some people like that. But I mean, why would you spend all your life just to find where you belong? What would be the point? Because no matter where you go, not everyone is going to accept you. And deep down, I knew I didn't belong anywhere. I had never felt I had. I knew Erek had tried to make me feel like I belonged, though he never had told me. But in the end, it was like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with all the wrong pieces.

Ax once again muttered something under his breathe. Obviously, he really hated the Yeerks. I did too. Maybe what my subconscious meant by what we had in common; we both hated the Yeerks.

_Close, _said my subconscious, _Think about it. Why are you fighting the Yeerks?_

_A lot of reasons, _I replied, _for one, they killed my parents._

_Yes. But as you know, the Animorphs are only in this because they didn't have a choice, Erek and the Chee are in this because they don't agree on what the Yeerks are doing, but why is Ax in this?_

_I don't know._

_Have you ever considered, that maybe he had also lost something in this war?_

_Yeah, but how is my subconscious, how am I, meant to know?_

_There is more that one I, Tedahko._

Those words sent chills up my spine. What did I mean, what did my subconscious mean, there was more than one I?

I didn't get a chance to wonder.

(Visser Three is approaching the stage. Be ready, Tedahko.)

(Good luck,) Marco said, (hopefully you won't come back as witch shishkabob.)

I was about to yell "I'M NOT A WITCH, DAMMIT!" But didn't see the point. I stared at the man which was on the stage. Just by looking at him, I felt a cold chill go through my body. His eyes where emotionless, evil.

I regained my focus. Okay, so I was looking for the mind of Visser Three the Yeerk. Shouldn't be too hard. All I had to do was focus on him.

I closed my eyes and searched for his mind. The room was jam-packed with people, so it took me about two minutes to find him.

_Be careful, Tedahko, _warned my subconscious.

I ignored it. This was going to be easy peasy once I found him. Sure enough, I came across his mind about ten seconds later; but something was wrong.

My head ached; and I felt... clashing? I don't know. There was no way to describe it. But it as if there was more than one mind somehow... combined with the one I was trying to control.

Ax looked at me. (Is something the matter, Nishkak?)

"Theres... clashing," I whispered, low enough so nobody else could here, "I can't do anything. Theres another mind there too... but I don't think I could control it."

(Try.)

So I tried to tap into the other mind. I came in contact with the mind but felt a giant lash of pain in my head, as if I had just ran into a brick wall. I instantly lost the connection and my vision began fading rapidly.

(Guys, whats happening?) I heard Jake asked.

Fading, and fading...

At the split second there was between being fully unconscious and semi unconscious I saw someone. A girl, not much older than myself. Her blue eyes stared into mine.

_Didn't I tell you to be careful?_

&&&

I woke up. I was lying down on my bed, in my room. Had the whole mission and my subconscious acting weird all been a dream? I sat up and instantly felt a sharp, thumping pain in my head. An icepack fell of it. Nope. No dream.

Despite my head thumping with pain in my head, I managed get out of bed and open the door. Erek was passing by my room.

"Ah good, you're awake."

"Let me guess, I passed out again?"

"Yup."

Suddenly, I burst out laughing for no reason at all. Erek smiled, but he looked worried at the same time.

"So what happened?" I asked, "My head get hit by a flying cinder block?" To be honest I was having trouble recalling the events that occurred right before I passed out. It seemed a bit muddled.

"No," he said, "according to Ax you passed out for no reason."

I gave Erek a demanding look, and he just sighed, "I believe his exact words were: The Nishkak is a burden, and should not be allowed to attend out missions! She would just get in the way, Prince Jake."

I scowled.

"After Jake demanded they should abort the mission, Ax was actually the one who managed to contact me. I did my best ambulance impression and quickly drove off to the convention hall."

"Thanks."

"Your welcome. And by the way, Tobias is over. He said something about wanting to talk to you."

My facial expression must of looked really blank because Erek said, "Okay, whats wrong?

I shook my head, "Nothing."

"I thought we were going to be honest," Erek said, smirking.

"Yeah well... just let me handle this okay?!" I said angrily, and stormed off to the living room. I instantly felt guilty for saying that to Erek, and made a mental note to myself to apologize later on.

When I came into the living room, I found Tobias, in human morph, calmly sitting on a lounge chair. As I entered the room, he stared at me for a moment.

"Yes?" I asked, "And you are here... why?"

"To talk," he replied calmly.

"I already told you! I lied, okay. I won't do it again!"

His stare was hard, then it softened into a more calmer expression.

"I thought about that. But I don't think you're that hurtful of a person. You're lying about lying."

I hated it. I hated how he was so sure. What was I going to do?

_The truth, _said my subconscious. I groaned in my mind. It was back. Not even the hardest knock on the head would get rid of that thing.

I nudged my head to the side, indicating Tobias to follow. We walked up into my room and I closed the door. I turned around, looked at him and sighed. I shuffled under my bed until I found a folder, containing various sheets of paper.

I took it out and handed it to Tobias.

"Read it. You mightn't like what you find."

Tobias scanned through the sheets carefully, until he smiled. Somehow when he smiled it looked unnatural on his face, as if he didn't get to do it often.

"Shocked?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No, not really."

He scanned through the last sheet and grinned. Again, it didn't looked unnatural.

"What?!" I demanded.

"Tedahko Meridia (insert last name here) eh?"

I frowned, "Please, never, ever, _ever, _call me by my full name again."

"Sorry," he replied, "Kinda hard not too. Your middle name is named after an ocean and your last name is named after a mountain, and your first name is some kind of Swedish-French name."

"No, actually its Japanese-Javanese," I corrected.

Tobias gave me a weird look.

I just laughed.

_The truth sets you free, _said my subconscious.

_And you know, for once I actually agreed._

**A/n: CLIFFIE! Nah, not really. Anywho, the chappie doesn't really leave you with much things to think about. Tedahko's subconscious, perhaps. But nothing else there. Well, then again I suppose you found out Tedahkos middle name (Yeah, I know, I'm a sucker for weird names,) and Ax and Tedahko apolgized to each other. Sort of. Anyway, the next chapter will be somewhat more exciting hopefully ;D Please review, criticize, and let me know about any stupid spelling/grammatical errors I have committed.**


	19. Confusion

**A/n: Hello everyone! Behold, the squeaky-clean-ness of Beta-read-ness! A giant thank you to Tsaukpaetra for agreeing to be my beta-reader. Now I won't be getting any more comments on how I misspelled something XD Yipee! Anyway, much thanks Tsaukpaetra. I shall underline you name in the Credits. On another note, I was look at the story stats the other day, and discovered my story had been favorited 17 times and alerted 13 times. I hadn't checked the stats in a while, so I was like WOAH! Thank you everyone for favoriting, reviewing alerting etc. You have brought me so much joy! **

**On another note, my laptop died. As in, died-died. About a week ago it started to make a burning smell then refused to recharge. So, I brought it into a computer-fixing place (Heh, I forget what they're called…) and the guy said it was dead. Sigh. We asked how much is would cost to get it fixed and he said it would just be better to put the money towards a new laptop. This really ticks me off, considering my laptop is only over a year old. Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to get a warranty on it (there are some complications apparently, because it was purchased in Hong Kong.) **

**So that's why I was a bit late writing this. I have written one forth of it on my laptop, but considering it is now dead, I had to rewrite it again. Luckily, I remembered most of what I wrote. Anyway, enough of the whole "ZOMG MY LAPTOP DIED D;" stuff. On with the story! **

**Sorry, one more note. This chapter is a bit dramatic. Though I'm not entirely sure if this particular chapter deserves the rating of T, some of the next chapters possibly will. Don't worry, nothing too awful.**

_**CREDITS**_

**Tsaukpaetra ****For Beta-reading (SEE I UNDERLINED YOUR NAME!!!)**

_DISCLAIMER_

**I own Animorphs like I own a mansion, private yacht and a Mercedes Benz. **

Chapter 19

_Erek's P.O.V_

"So," I said, in between a mouthful of Cheerios, "Tobias is your long lost relative huh?"

It was the next day and Tedahko, the Chee who plays my father and I were sitting down having breakfast. My father had a day off work today, something about the office he worked at getting raided by the NSA. I didn't bother asking. After all, it was probably just a rumor.

"Looks that way," Tedahko replied. She took a sip of her orange juice and smiled. I hadn't seen her smile like that for awhile, so whatever came out of the situation involving her and Tobias, it had to be good.

"How did he take it?" I asked.

"Surprisingly well," she replied, "It was like he actually expected it or something."

"So how are you two related anyway?" I asked. Obviously, she wasn't related to him on his father's side. Unless she was secretly half Andalite and wasn't telling me, that is.

"Through his mother's side," she replied, "my grandfather and his grandfather were brothers. We're talking about my father's father here. Not my mom's."

"Well, guess that would make the most sense."

"So Tedahko," my father spoke up for the first time in the conversation, "I heard that you're in a play with Erek." I looked at his face to see he was grinning. He had done that on purpose!

"Uh..." Tedahko began, a bit stuck for words.

It was times like these where I wished I could at least kick him under the table, if it wasn't for the whole non-violence thing. But then it occurred to me, why couldn't I kick him under the table? Technically, he wouldn't be what a human would classify as a living thing, right? Meaning, I should be able to kick him under the table to indicate I was ticked off at him.

I attempted, but my foot stopped an inch from his. Great, the Pemalites had programmed us to be non violent towards each other too. Just perfect. I suppose it might have been a good thing in a way. I _did _swear I would never hurt another living thing anyway. And to me, my own people kind of counted as living things. That reminded me, I still hadn't told Tedahko about when I overwrote the non-violence programming. But I just guessed that she really didn't need to know. Besides, I wasn't exactly proud about it.

"I pulled out of the play," I said, "I... uh... had too much English homework to catch up on."

He raised his eyebrow and grinned. He knew I was lying. Needless to say the Chee who played my father could really, really tick me off. He had in 1945 when he played my cousin, and he still did now. He was fully aware of what was happening, and thought of it as highly amusing.

"Oh, that's too bad," he said using a false sincere voice, "I have tickets to that play. This Saturday, right?"

Tedahko froze, "Th- this Saturday?! But that's only a few days away! Oh crud, I haven't even practiced my lines!" And with that, she ran upstairs to practice her lines.

"Seriously, not funny," I said to my father once Tedahko was upstairs.

He grinned, "Oh, come on Erek. Isn't your_ older _father allowed to joke around a little?"

"But you're only older by 1000 years!" I pointed out.

He grinned, "But still, I'm older. So I shall do as I please."

There was a few seconds silence.

"So what's really up in between you and Tedahko?" he asked.

"Huh? Nothing. Why would you think that?" I said quickly.

"I mean, why you aren't doing the play?"

I paused, "Oh. Tedahko doesn't feel comfortable about it. That's all."

"Well, if you say so. Anyway, I have to go shopping for groceries. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Bye."

"See ya."

He paused before walking out the front door.

"Oh, and Erek?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful with this situation. We wouldn't want Tedahko getting the wrong idea, now would we?" He winked at me then walked out the door.

I slammed my head on the table.

&&&

"I still can't believe we're actually related," Tedahko said as we approached the school grounds, "I can't even find any resemblances."

"Uh, Tedahko," I said, keeping my voice low enough so other people wouldn't overhear, "the guy's a hawk."

"Oh yeah, I totally hadn't noticed," she said and rolled her eyes, "I mean his human morph and personality wise."

"Well, as a human he looks nothing like you and personality wise... I can't see anything there either. He certainly doesn't share that stubborn trait you seem to have."

Tedahko scowled, "Watch it, Erek."

Now that I thought about it I did see quite a few resemblances between Tobias and Tedahko. I didn't know Tobias very well, but I knew attitude wise he could be very distant and withdrawn. Tedahko could be that way too. And for another fact, neither of them really had a real family. I suppose that doesn't really count as a resemblance. But seriously, if I would have thought Tedahko was related to anyone that it probably be Rachel, for obvious reasons.

Just then, I noticed a Spencer approaching us. Great, Spencer the jerk-face. What was even more disturbing was that the guy was on crutches and had a bandaged ankle.

"Hey Tedahko, hey Erek," he greeted.

"Hi Spencer!" Tedahko said, before turning her attention to his ankle, "Ouch. What happened to your ankle?"

Spencer laughed, "I was riding my board at the skate park yesterday afternoon and totally stacked it."

"Show off," I muttered under my breath, low enough so nobody would hear.

"Wow, did it hurt?" Tedahko asked.

"Nah, not compared to when I broke my arm. You ever broke anything?"

Tedahko shook her head, "I've been lucky so far."

"Oh yeah, and I was wondering..." Spencer began. All of a sudden I had a bad feeling about where this was going. He wasn't going to... He wouldn't, would he?

"Mmm?" Tedahko asked.

"Well, it's just that the school dance was coming up, and I was wondering if you would like to go with me?" Spencer took a deep breath, "There, I said it."

As if on cue, Tedahko zoned out, or at least froze. How dare he ask her out! I mean, there was _no _way she would ever say yes to that jerk-face! She had common sense! She wouldn't say yes.

I looked at Tedahko, who still seemed frozen. She hesitated, but then said, "Sure! Sounds good!"

She... she said yes?

"Uh, well," I said quickly, "obviously you too need some time to yourselves. I'm just going to sort out my books before the first bell rings."

I ran off.

&&&

_Marco's P.O.V_

My name is Marco.

Or Marco the Magnificent.

Or Marco the Lady Charmer.

Yep, every girl in the world wanted to take me to the school dance, which I had sort of forgotten was even coming up. One of the downsides of being an Animorph, I end up forgetting all the important things regarding my social life.

"Britney! Don't be like that!" I called after her, "You know we're meant to be together!"

Britney called me something not repeatable and ran away at an even fast pace than before. Not that she was running away in the first place, you see. She was just overwhelmed by my amazing good looks.

I sighed and made my way over to the lunch room, where by no doubt Tomato Surprise was on the menu. I went to sit next to Rachel, who was sitting opposite to Cassie at a table towards the right of the lunch room.

"So Xena," I said, "heard you're looking for a date for the dance." Using my smooth skills, I attempted to move my arm around her shoulder, but before they could come in contact...

"Don't. You. Even. Think. About. It," Rachel growled under her breath. I quickly removed my arm.

I quickly looked over the side of the lunch room to see Tedahko sitting with some kid I didn't know. I mean, I'd heard that his name was Spencer, but I had no idea who he actually was.

"Check it out," I said, jerking my thumb towards the two lovebirds, "Looks like our friend Tedahko has a boyfriend."

Rachel and Cassie both turned their heads.

"Yeah, cute," Rachel said, seeming to be totally uninterested.

"Where's Erek?" Cassie asked, "I don't see him around the lunch room."

"I saw him this morning," Rachel said, "He seemed to be in a hurry though."

Cassie looked worried. And you know, I swear sometimes that girl knows exactly what is coming before it hits us.

&&&

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

_Do you really think your decision was right?_ Asked my subconscious.

_I don't know, and I don't care. So please just go away._

_You do care. And you know it._

It was during drama and I was sitting next to Spencer. Listening to Miss Cruz go on and on and on about the play.

Erek was sitting on the other side of the room. Why did I feel like I had done something wrong? Why did I feel so guilty?

_Though you can see, you can be so blind sometimes, _muttered my subconscious.

_This isn't my fault though! Is it my fault that I want to be normal? Is it my fault that I want to date a normal guy!?_

_No. But it is your fault that you're betraying yourself._

_Betraying!? What do you mean?! _I demanded.

_You'll figure it out soon enough. It's not about if its normal. Nothing is ever normal. It's about what feels right._

_But what about if nothing ever feels right?! _I asked.

My subconscious didn't reply.

"Okay, now, on with more details about the play," Miss Cruz said before pausing once she saw Spencer's ankle.

"Oh, no Spencer!" she said, "We can't have you doing the play with a broken ankle!"

"It's only sprained!" Spencer pointed out.

"But will it heal in time?! I think not!" she said. She put her hand on her chin and made a face as if she was in deep thought.

"Who could possibly replace him?"

All the boys in the class raised their hands, yelling "Pick me!"

"What!?" Spencer demanded, "You can't just kick me out of _my_ position! You can't-"

But she was in too much of a deep thought to even notice he was speaking.

"Erek, how about you? I mean, I know you have a lot of homework to do, but you would make just the most excellent Romeo!"

"Miss Cruz, I can't..." Erek began.

"Oh? You will? That's great!" Miss Cruz said happily, "and so it is decided! You two may go in the back room and rehearse your lines! After all, there are only a few more days until the play!"

_I don't know who you are, _I said to my subconscious, _but stop messing around with fate._

_What makes you think I have control over fate? _Asked my subconscious.

_I don't know,_ I admitted, _I guess it would just explain a lot of things, that's all._

As I walked into the back room I felt pain. I felt guilt. I felt scared. I felt unsure.

We sat down silently at the table in the back room. Erek laid the script book on the table.

"Well," he said, "this is... awkward."

"Awkward? Nah! Why would you think that?" I said sarcastically.

"Yeah. I'm sorry for running off earlier... too... I was in a hurry, that's all."

I shrugged, "It's okay."

Before thinking, _nothing is okay._

Just then, the door clicked open and Cassie walked into the room.

"Oh, hi guys didn't know you where in here. I'm looking for sports equipment. Any here?"

I scanned the room, "not that I see."

"Okay well, thanks anyway." Then, when about halfway to the door, she said, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah," I said rolling my eyes, "Everything is fine."

I had a bad feeling then. I remembered what Marco had said about Cassie. How she could see through people and know what was really happening. I prayed that she would walk out the door. I prayed she would just walk away...

Instead, Cassie turned back around and sat at the third chair at the table.

"Okay you guys," she said, "I have no idea what is going on, but you two need to sort it out."

"There's nothing to sort out," Erek said.

"For an android, you're a horrible liar Erek," Cassie said, "I want you both tell the other what is wrong. In one full sentence."

And before I knew it, this had changed into a Dr Phil scenario thanks to Cassie. Though Cassie was my friend, there was never a moment I had hated her more than then.

_Maybe because you hate saying how you feel, _said my subconscious. I was too tired to answer it. I really didn't have the energy no more.

"Erek, you begin."

"But Cassie -"

Cassie gave Erek a "no nonsense" look, which I had never seen her give anybody before. Also, it was just slightly scary.

"I... I..." Erek began. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead blurted out, "I hate your new boyfriend!"

&&&

_Cassie's P.O.V_

Tedahko looked like she had just been slapped. It was then I realized if this had been such a good idea after all. I shouldn't have been this foolish to charge in like this! I should have known better! Did I honestly think I could come in here and make everything better again?

"I can't do this," Tedahko whispered, and she ran out.

"Tedahko, wait!" But it was too late. She ran out the back door.

I looked over at Erek. He seemed so quiet and emotionless. Oh god, what had I done?

"You should go after her," he said quietly.

I didn't say anything. I just turned and ran after her.

&&&

I found her sitting on the far side of the school oval near a bunch of trees.

"Go away," she muttered, "please, just leave me alone."

I couldn't leave her. I owed her that much. I went and sat down next to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about," she muttered. I noticed a tear strolling down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. She had always seemed like that type who had acted like nothing was wrong when it seriously was. She was like Rachel in that way, I suppose. She wouldn't let people see her weakness, and wasn't likely to given in that easily.

"Tedahko, I know that whatever you're going through can't be easy..."

"Easy?!" she demanded angrily, "Easy?! Nothing is ever easy, Cassie."

"Please just talk to me about it. Tell me what's wrong?"

"I don't know," she whispered;

"_I really don't know."_

**A/N: ZOMG CLIFFIE! Okay, well, kind of anyway. Ahh, I love dramatic endings. The next chapters are going to be jelly-packed! Because the word "Jam-packed" sounds funny. Like always, review and criticize please! I would love to know what you think. Ideas are also welcome too. Although I'm well aware of what the plot is, I need things to fill in gaps too. Another thanks to Tsaukpaetra for beta-reading. I didn't find one mistake. Okay, well that's chapter nineteen**

_**Note: For all of you who haven't already figured it out, the A/N is **__**NOT**__** Beta-read. Thank you.**_


	20. Subconciously Speaking

**A/N: BETA SQEAKY CLEANESS ONCE AGAIN! Another thanks to Tsaupaetra for beta reading for me once again. I didn't pick up any errors ;D Great job! Like always, thank you to all my wonderful reviewers. You inspire me to keep on writing! This chapter is the beginning of a dramatic stage in the story. I was wondering if I should rate this chapter T, but decided a K plus plus would do. Things are going to get really, really interesting. In this chapter, we find out something about Tedahko's subconscious. Wondering what I'm talking about? Read and find out!**

**Disclaimer:**

**I own Animorphs like I won the lottery.**

**Playstation is copyright of Sony.**

**Credit:**

**Thanks to Tsaupaetra for beta reading this chapter.**

Chapter 20

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

I ran from her. I ran away from everything. Who cares if I missed out on the rest of the school day. Who cares if I got in trouble? I just couldn't take it. My head felt like it was about to explode and I had no idea why. Everything, every thought, was so painful.

I ran out of the school grounds, and get kept going until I reached the park. I saw bushes at the far side of the park. An opportunity to fly away. The opportunity I had taken so many times before.

_Sometimes running away from your fears isn't always the best option, _said my subconscious.

I began sprinting towards the bushes.

_And what exactly are my fears? _I demanded, _what exactly am I running away from?_

_I don't need to answer that question for you, you already know._

_  
__I hate you. _It was a weak, thoughtless comeback. To be honest, I was having trouble of coming up with anything better at the moment. My head hurt, and I all I wanted to do was to get away from everything.

I ran into the bushes and looked around quickly. Nobody around. Nobody was following me. I held out my arms and tilted my head upwards, looking at the blue, endless sky above me: my escape.

Energy engulfed my body as I turned into a crow and headed for the skies.

Once I was up in the air, flying to - Okay, so I didn't really know where I was going yet - I said to my subconscious in the harshest way possible;

_You did all this, didn't you?_

_I couldn't have even if I wanted to._

_What's that suppose to mean?!_

_I can't interfere directly._

"Well, too bad," I spat out loud, "you already did." My subconscious didn't reply. Hah, I got the better of it. Of course, none of this was my fault, I hadn't done anything wrong. Oh heck, who am I kidding?! Of course this was my fault! If I had never... If I had never...

Hmm, if I had never what?

_I have a whole list of words you could use, _said my subconscious, _"If I had never been so stubborn," or, "If I had never been so denying..." or..._

"You come with sarcasm. That's new."'

_I'm not being sarcastic, _replied my subconscious smugly.

It was my turn to ignore it.

I kept on flying until I came to the same meadow which I had been at only a few days before. I swooped down and turned back into human. I didn't bother looking around, the meadow was pretty deep in the words and probably not many hikers ventured out this far.

I sat in the long grass and watched the yellow flowers sway back and forth in the wind. I don't know how long I was just sitting there, watching the flowers. But it must have been at least half an hour. The thing was: I didn't feel bored. It seemed when I focused on the bright yellow color, it took my mind of everything else. It was kind of like an antiseptic, come to think about it.

(Hi Tedahko. Back here again huh?)

I swear I jumped ten feet into the air. I get sneaked up on a lot, yet every time it happens it scares the living daylights out me.

A bird, or a red tailed hawk if you want to be specific, swooped across the field to sit on a branch in a nearby by tree.

"Hello Tobias," I replied.

Believe it or not, Tobias and I are related. Yes, I know he is a hawk. And yes, I know I am the last user of magic on earth.

(Why aren't you in school?)

"Because I don't want to be," I muttered.

(That doesn't sound like you.)

"Tobias, you have only known me for, what, a week or so?"

(Is everything alright?)

"Uh, well, no! If everything was alright, why would I be staring at yellow flowers for half an hour straight?!"

(I wondered the same question,) Tobias said, (so either you have gone "insane," as Marco would put it, or something is wrong.)

"Do you really want to know?" I asked.

(Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I'll never know until you tell me.)

For some reason, I felt like I could trust Tobias. Sure, he was a hawk. Sure, he hung out with a blue centaur, and sure, we were only related distantly. But I still felt as if I could tell him, and maybe, just maybe, he might be able to understand.

"A lot of things are wrong."

(Start from the beginning.)

"I guess I just hate myself."

(For what?)

Was I really going to answer him? Was I really going to tell him?

"That's the thing," I said, "I really don't know."

(You know,) Tobias said, (You shouldn't hate yourself for what you feel towards someone.)

How... did he say that? He expressed everything, every word in my mind accurately? How did he know?

I was silent.

(You like Erek, don't you?)

"WHAT?!" I demanded automatically, "Uh-uh. No way! After all, Erek and I could never be... you know... even if we wanted too!"

(In other words, you hate yourself for feeling that way about him, because you think that you could never be together.)

"WHAT!?" I shouted automatically again, "No!"

_Let it go, Tedahko, _said my subconscious, _Let him see through you. Listen to what he has to say._

(You shouldn't hate yourself, Tedahko,) Tobias said, (You can't just change the way you feel about someone.)

"Shut up!" I shouted, "Stop telling me the way I feel about him! Don't you think I already know? You have _no _idea how it feels like, Tobias!"

I felt my subconscious smirk in the back of my mind. I knew I had said exactly what it had wanted to hear. How I hated it.

(Like you said yourself, we know nothing about each other,) Tobias said.

"So, what?" I demanded, "It's not like you could ever be in the same situation as me."

(You're just too blind and stubborn,) Tobias said bluntly.

_Told you, _mocked my subconscious.

There was an awkward silence.

"Sorry," I muttered.

(Forget it. I have to go. I hope everything turns out okay for you.) I watched as Tobias floated effortlessly out into the wide, blue sky, and out of sight.

"Since when does _anything _ever turn out as okay?" I asked myself.

&&&

_Marco's P.O.V_

My name is Marco. You know the drill. I'm charming, awesome, and everybody loves me.

However, blenders do not. That was why for our Home Ec lesson, I was determined to get partnered with Erek. Face it, when it comes to cooking chocolate soufflés, androids don't tend to make many mistakes. I was sure to get an A plus. Which would probably be the best mark I had got ever since I had been dragged unwillingly into this stupid war. My grades were suffering. Besides that, my dad said if I got one more D, he would take away my Playstation for a month.

"Sure," Erek agreed, "I can't see why not."

I grinned. Sorry dad, but looks like my Playstation is going to live - for now.

"Okay class, listen up!" Mr. Graham said, "This class period is going to make up 30 percent of your grade, so to do well. I shall be choosing the partners."

"Crap," I muttered to myself. Goodbye Playstation, I was going to miss you.

But surprisingly, this had a better outcome than you'd think, for I was placed with the beautiful and popular Britney. And instead of Erek being my partner, he was partnered with Tedahko's new "boyfriend," Spencer.

Since the Home Ec room wasn't overly large, we shared a bench with another pair of partners. In this case, Erek, Spencer, Britney and I were at the same table in the Home Ec room. Erek looked really ticked for some reason I was unsure of.

"Eww, eww, eww," repeated Britney over and over again.

"Oh, don't worry Britney," I said, "I think eggs are 'eww' too."

"I was eww-ing at your face, loser," replied Britney.

I tried my best not to look hurt. "She digs me."

"Isn't this gonna be cool, Erek?" Spencer asked, "We're actually partners. Let's try to get an A, huh?"

"Yeah... A..." muttered Erek, not seeming overly interested.

"Okay class," Mr. Graham announced, "would one partner from each group please come up to collect ingredients please."

"I'll go!" offered Spencer. I watched as he hobbled off on his crutches.

"Like, me too," said Britney, "I like, totally don't want Marco to infect the ingredients. Cos' he's like, so gross."

Yep. That girl digs me.

All of a sudden, Erek frowned.

"What?" I demanded.

"Lourdes spotted Tedahko dumpster diving."

My face went blank. "Let's never speak of this again."

"Agreed."

But I couldn't help but asking,

"Dude, do you keep tabs on her or something?"

"What? No!" Erek said angrily, "I certainly do not!"

"Can't stand the fact of our friend Teh having a boyfriend, eh?" I meant it as a joke. But Erek shot me, well, the dirtiest look an android could shoot. Maybe I had gone a little bit too far.

"But, it's obvious you don't like this Spencer guy, huh?" I said in a whisper.

Erek said a variety of words I didn't understand.

"Huh?"

"I just expressed my opinion about him in Mesopotamian, which is known for its variety of curse words."

"Oh."

Spencer and Britney walked back to the table with the ingredients. Come to think of it, Spencer was a _bit_ too perfect. I mean, Erek was perfect. But of course, he was an android. Spencer on the other hand seemed to be pretty smart. I had heard teachers talking about him earlier in the hall today. All were commenting how well behaved he was and about his good grades. No wonder I couldn't get a date, Mr. Perfect was getting all the girls. Not that I wasn't Mr. Perfect, because you know, I totally am.

Suddenly....

"What was that for?!" demanded Erek.

"Huh?" Spencer asked clueless.

"You just zapped me with something!"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize."

Erek looked really angry at Spencer, but didn't say anything more. I saw Spencer quickly bend down and place something in the front pocket of his bag, (which was sitting under the table,) then sit back up again.

Mr. Graham then approached our table.

"Spencer, there was a phone call from the office. Apparently your Aunt is here and you're going home early."

"Oh okay, cool," Spencer replied and picked up his bag, "Bye guys!"

As he walked of, something fell out of the front pocket of his bag. I was about to call out to him, but Erek stopped me. Erek quickly ran for it, picked it up, and then ran back to our table. Britney was too occupied to notice, as she was filing her nails.

"It's a scanner," Erek explained.

"Huh, it is?"

"The question is: why would Spencer have a scanner in his bag?" Erek looked at the text displayed on the screen on the scanner, and narrowed his eyes, "Uh oh."

"Uh oh what?" I demanded. I gazed at the text displayed on the scanner screen.

"Oh. _That _'Uh oh,'"

Because on the screen was the words;

"No life forms detected. Results sent."

&&&

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

_You have officially come to an all time low, _said my subconscious.

"Have not! It wasn't my fault if I dropped my watch into a dumpster!"

_It's one thing to dumpster dive, _said my subconscious, _but another to actually get caught doing it._

"Well if I'm going to live by myself from now on, I have to find some way to survive. Besides, how was I to know that Lourdes was snoozing in that dumpster?"

_You're being way over dramatic._

"Oh yeah, well what do you suggest I do then?"

_I don't know._

"Fine, be unhelpful. In fact, the cool looking flashlight I found in the dumpster would be even more help than you."

My subconscious sighed.

It was about 4:00pm now, and I was walking through an alleyway, flicking pieces of ravioli and other stuff I didn't want to identify off my T-shirt.

"Miss (Insert my last name here)?"

"AHHH!" I yelped, and spun around as fast as I could. I took a deep breath as I realized it was just a girl. She was African-American with her hair in a short bob and looked about nineteen or twenty. The clothes she was wearing looked rather formal, as she was wearing long black trousers, a white shirt and a black, nicely ironed jacket over the top of it. She certainly didn't look like one of the psychos you find hiding in the alleyways.

Once she saw that I had gotten over my shot of being snuck up on, she began to speak.

"Agent June, NSA. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." She flashed her badge and waited patiently for me to reply.

_Uh oh_, my subconscious and I thought in unison.

"Uh, well I would... but as you can see, agent, I'm a bit busy right now."

"Dumpster diving?"

I frowned, "No, what would make you think that?"

"You missed some on your jeans."

"Oh." I quickly flicked of the remainder of - okay, so I didn't know what it was - and tried to look as dignified as possible.

"So are you going to cooperate or not, Miss?" she asked politely. She didn't seem hostile, but I was still a bit nervous.

"Depends, have I done something wrong?"

"No, not at all Miss."

"Uh... I guess so then."

Agent June lead me to a van, which was parked only a few blocks away. Instantly I had a bad feeling about this. Was if it was a Yeerk trap? But then again, why would they bother to infest me? As if I was _that_ important. The only reason they would want to infest me was that I was the last user of magic on earth, but they wouldn't know that.

_I have a bad feeling about this also, Tedahko. But the whole situation doesn't scream "Yeerk" to me._

Again June opened the door of the van and I hopped in. In the back of a van, there was a table and two chairs. I wasn't really surprised, the van was pretty big.

"Please Miss (insert my last name here,) take a seat."

I took a seat like I was told, but still felt incredibly nervous. To be honest, I was waiting for an army of those demon thingies to calm storming in at any second. They never did.

"So... what's this about?" I asked nervously.

"Its involving a person named Erek King. I believe you know him."

I froze. Uh oh.

"Uh... yeah... I do. Why?"

"One of our agents performed a life form scan on him. It came up negative."

I froze. My mind went into panic. Oh no. Oh no. They knew... they knew...

_Tedahko! Stop panicking before you pass out!_ Scolded my subconscious, _remain calm._

I let out a laugh, trying to do my best to make it sound like a laugh of disbelief. I had to hope she'd fall for it.

"Erek? Not a life form?!" I continued my creepy laugh of disbelief, "Are you feeling okay, June? And even so, what would this situation have to do with me?!

"One of our agents informed me that you were currently living with Erek King. Therefore, we have decided to ask you if you are willing to sit a liar detector test, just in case you happen to know something but aren't telling us."

I panicked again. Oh no. I couldn't sit for a liar detector test! I'd fail for sure! And if I disagreed, it would seem suspicious.

_You're afraid of a lie detector test?_ My subconscious asked with a laugh, _Puh-leaze. I've sat for dozens of lie detector tests over the years and lived through each one._

_You're creepy._

_All you have to do is keep a clear mind. Answer the questions absent mindedly. It worked for me. And think about it, it would help clear Erek's name, wouldn't it?_

_If I fail..._

_You won't, _my subconscious reassured, _trust me._

_Trust a weird voice in my head? Why not!_

"Miss?"

"Huh? What?!"

"Would you sit for the liar detector test?"

"Uh... Sure!"

I watched as Agent June got out a funny looking machine thing and attached straps to my fingers.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Sure!" I said, perhaps a bit too nervously.

_Just relax, _my subconscious said, _clear your mind._

I took a deep breath and emptied my mind. No thoughts.

"First question," began Agent June, "Is there anything, anything at all about Erek King which doesn't seem human?"

"No."

I'll spare giving you the details about the next ten minutes, as it was extremely boring and most of the questions Agent June asked my resembled the first one. June looked at the screen of the machine thingy, as if she was carefully analyzing what was on it.

"No lies detected," she said. She seemed somewhat disappointed by this. I, however, couldn't be happier and had to stop myself from breathing a big sigh of relief. In your face lie detector test! Ha!

"Maybe the test he did was incorrect after all," Agent June muttered to herself, "Okay Miss (insert my last name here,) you are free to go."

I walked out of the van and punched the air. I had aced a liar detector test! Woooooo!

"Uh, Miss?" I was interrupted with my fist still in the air. I quickly pulled it down and spun around.

"What?"

"You left your flashlight on the table."

"Oh."

&&&

It was 6:00pm now, and getting darker. I wondered around the suburban streets, wondering where on earth I was going to sleep tonight. Obviously, I couldn't go back to Erek's house. Not after what happened today. I shivered, it not only was it getting darker, but it was getting colder too.

_You need to tell Erek, _said my subconscious.

... _about what?_

_That he's in danger of being exposed by a bunch of feds._

_I can tell him tomorrow._

_No you can't, Tedahko. He could be in serious danger here._

I frowned, "Stop telling me what to do," I said aloud.

_So you're willing to risk the life of you friend, just because you're scared of approaching him._

I sighed with exasperation, "I don't have time to argue with you."

_Serious Tedahko, you - Hey! Where are you going?!_

I had turned and started walking towards a tree on someone's front lawn, surrounded by bushes and flowers. Obviously whoever lived here didn't get around to doing much gardening. The grass kinda needed a trim.

"Up."

And before I knew it, I was soaring in the sky.

_Okay, fine. I give up,_ said my subconscious with a sigh, _where are you going to sleep?_

"Somewhere with lots of hay."

_Cassies barn?! You're joking, right?_

"Hey, you're just my subconscious. Why would you care anyway?"

My subconscious didn't answer.

&&&

I snuck into the barn. By snuck I meant creeping really, _really _quietly, hoping not to be heard by anyone. I didn't really want to tell Cassie that I was going to be sleeping in the hayloft that night, especially after what happened earlier. But you can't blame me for not wanting to face her, right?

Exhausted, I climbed up into the hayloft and laid down. It occurred to me then why the hell I was going to spend the night in a barn surrounded my hay, stinky animals and dung. But then I remembered. And then I drifted off to sleep.

&&&

I sat on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the endless, green forest below. Normally, if I was sitting on the edge of a cliff, I would be panicking. But I was un-phased. I knew it was all just another dream. And by the looks of it, it wasn't going to be a nightmare like most of my recent dreams.

It was dreams like this that I enjoyed. Where I could just sit and watch the nonexistent world go by. It was better than watching people you loved get killed. It was weird actually. The landscape looked so real, so convincing. The colors I saw weren't distorted, like they usually where. I froze. That had happened one time before... when I dreamt about...

"It's still a dream," said a voice from my right, "just a bit different than other dreams."

If I wasn't already frozen before, I certainly was now. I slowly turned my head the right. There, sitting next to me, was a girl. She had white-blond, long hair and piercing blue eyes and looking only a bit older than be. I recognized her straight away. It was the same girl I had seen after the mission.

She must have realized that I was really, really scared and looked as if I wanted to pass out (unfortunately, you can't pass out in dreams,) because she said;

"Don't worry, I don't bite."

"Wh- who are you?" I asked slowly. I was literally shaking.

She smiled a warm smile. Not at all scary. "You haven't figured out?"

"No..." There was a long moment of silence then I gasped, "My subconscious!"

She grinned, "Yes and no."

"So you're not really my subconscious?"

"Believe me Tedahko, you probably even don't have a subconscious," and then under her breath she added, "or common sense, for that matter."

"What did you say?!" I demanded angrily.

She waved her hand dismissively, "Nothing. Nothing."

"So who the hell are you!?" I asked impatiently.

"My name is Anne," she explained.

"Oh great," I said, rolling my eyes, "I am officially insane. My subconscious has made up a name for itself."

"You're not insane," she replied, "I really do exist. Well, sort of..."

"You where explaining?" I interrupted rudely.

"Yeah," she said, "Like I said, my name is Anne. I am -"

"Erek's looked everywhere, Cassie. There's no sign of Tedahko."

That snapped me back to reality. Or woke me up at least. I woke up to a dim light shining from the floor of the barn. Wearily, I got up, rubbed sleep out of my eyes and saw Cassie and Jake talking. I tried to get on my knees in order to get a better look, but all this did was make the floorboards creak noisily. Cassie and Jake paused.

Both of them looked cautiously around the barn.

"Hello?"

I didn't answer.

"Anyone there?"

"Only the rats," I replied.

There was a long silence.

"Oh my god..." Cassie whispered, "David?"

"Uh, no. Tedahko. Hang on, I'm coming down."

I crawled over from the edge of the hayloft and jumped down onto the ground, with my flashlight in my hand. Luckily, I didn't fall over, despite being extremely tired.

The light in the room was very dim, so it was hard for me to make out anything around me.

"Tedahko, where have you -"

"Hang on, just let me turn on my flashlight..."

Cassie and Jake looked at my flashlight and both screamed;

"NOOOOOOO!"

_Tseeeeeeeeew!_

A giant hole sizzled through the wall of the barn where the beam of light should have shown.

"Oh," I said.

_"So it wasn't a flashlight."_

_**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Okay, so maybe it isn't. I just wanted to say that word because it sounds cool. CLIFFIE is a cool word too. Tedahko probably isn't going to keep random flashlights she finds in dumpsters from now on XD Hehe. Everyone, PLEASE, PLEASE review! It makes me so happy and overwhelmed with joy. And you know, criticism is good too – especially constructive criticism. I've decided that from now on after the end of each author's note, I shall leave you with an unanswered question to ponder. Why? Because I have nothing better to do. Heh, ponder. It reminds me of fishponds. **_

_**Who is Anne?**_


	21. Shattered

**A/N: Hello Hello! XD Behold the next chapter. IN SQUEAKY BETA-READ-NESS! Sorry, I'll stop saying that ;D Anyway, I have to give a warning to everyone about this chapter. For one, I don't think I wrote it as well as the other chapters and two, it has an ending that I don't think anybody would like (Especially Skyflight Erek's Loyalty.) You'll see what I mean. But may I just assure everyone that not the next chapter, but the one after that is going to end with a GOOD cliffhanger! Yipee! See, I'm not that mean. So, I apologize for the ending of this chapter, but it was necessary for the plot of the story. **

**Also, when I get 80 reviews, I might consider drawing fan art for my story (I know, I'm such a loser.) Unfortunately, when it comes to drawing art and posting it on the internet, I have dedication problems XD I've gone through about a dozen Deviantart accounts and only ever updated each one twice. –Sigh-  
On a positive note, considering it is now summer holidays (I'm in Australia, and its summer over here…) I will have a lot more time to write chapters over the following five weeks.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Animorphs, then I'd be on an around-the-world trip now.**

**Credit: Tsaukpaetra for Beta-reading. Great job, like usual ;D**

Chapter 21

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

After Jake and Cassie had gotten over the shock of me nearly frying them with my super cool flashlight, Jake said;

"Where have you been? Erek's been looking everywhere for you!"

"I've been... busy."

"You can't just go disappearing every time you feel like it," Jake said.

"And why not?" I asked.

"For one, it'll get people suspicious and it would attract unwanted attention."

I rolled my eyes, but since it was dark I didn't think Jake saw. "Fine Jake, I'll let you know every time I wag school," I said sarcastically.

Jake was about to say something else but then sighed with exhaustion and said, "What do you want me to tell Erek?"

_Nothing,_ I thought to myself.

"That I'm okay and... and that he should probably try to avoid anybody that looks like an NSA agent."

Jake gave me a questioning look and I sighed.

"I'll explain tomorrow."

"Fine. I'm going home. Bye Cassie." He walked out the barn and Cassie and I were left in silence.

"Uhhh...." I began. There was more silence.

"Would you like to come inside?" Cassie asked.

"Oh, nah, I'll be fine. You know me. I'll just sleep among the hay. Yup!" I blurted out in a really fast in an "I'm so not fine" tone.

"We're expecting storm tonight," she said.

I shivered, the thought of being in a barn while it was raining, well, it just seemed... spooky.

"But what about your parents?"

"Mom's at an overnight conference on the other side of town. My dad's home but trust me, he's such a heavy sleeper that he wouldn't wake up even if a tornado came ripping through our house."

"I really... shouldn't. I mean, not after the way I treated you before..." I was feeling guilty about the way I had spoken to Cassie earlier, but I knew that she was just trying to help.

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have tried to interfere when I knew nothing about the situation."

Another moment of awkward silence followed.

"But you know," she said, "if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm always here."

I nodded, "Yeah, I know."

Cassie smiled and wiped sleep out of her eyes, "Come on, let's go inside."

&&&

_Erek's P.O.V_

I had spent the whole evening looking for Tedahko. I wanted to tell her I was sorry for what I said, and that I hadn't meant to say something like that about jerk-face Spencer. That jerk-face.

I had given up looking for her at 11:00pm, and returned to my house. I didn't bother "pretending" to sleep. I stayed up all night watching awful late-night TV hoping she would return eventually.

It was about two in the morning when a very angry and wet Jake arrived at my door step.

"Jake -!"

"Are you going to let me in, or not?" Jake interrupted angrily in a very out of character way.

"Yeah, of course!" I quickly swung the door open further and stepped to the side.

"What happened to you?" I asked when Jake was inside.

"That doesn't matter," he said angrily, "The point is, Tedahko is okay. Oh yeah, and she said she something about watching out for NSA agents. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go home and SLEEP!"

I watched speechless as he stormed out of the house. Looks like I wasn't the only one having a bad night.

&&&

It was the next day during P.E. (which was held on the school oval today) and I was starting to get really, really worried because Teh had failed to turn up at school. I thought about what I had said to her and how much it had hurt her. I knew that although I wasn't capable of violence, I was still capable of hurting others emotionally. All I wanted to do was say sorry.

"Hey Erek! Wow, looks we're in the same sport class. Pretty cool huh?"

I stiffened. I recognized that voice, the voice of Spencer the jerk-face. Spencer sat next to me and put on the "I'm so perfect" attitude that everyone else falls for - except me of course.

_Everyone else is fooled by you, Spencer, I_ thought to myself, _but I know you have a dark secret underneath all of your perfection._

Okay, so maybe I didn't know about his "dark" secret. But I knew he had one, and I was determined to find out just what it was.

"Yeah, cool..." I muttered to myself and continued to ignore Spencer.

"Hey, uh, you don't happen to know where Teh is, do you? It's just that, well, she isn't at school and I thought, you know, you two being best friends and all that you might know where she was..."

I used all the artificial will-power I had to stop myself from swearing at him in Egyptian. He thinks that just because he has known Tedahko for- what, a few days? - That he suddenly has the right to ask where she is. And how dare he call her Teh! That was my nickname for her! He can't use it. That big jerk-face.

"She's sick."

"Really? Well, looks like I'll have to buy her some flowers and drop them over to her this afternoon."

"NO!" I shouted, "I mean, er, you can't. Whatever she has... it's contagious."

"Oh," Spencer frowned, "Well tell her I said get well soon."

"I will."

_NOT!_

"Okay everyone, listen up!" said our teacher Mr. Lenard, "as you all know, today is the try outs for district running. If you would like to try out, please stand and position yourself at the beginning of the track. The top three will be going off to district."

Though I knew I could easily cream anybody when it came to running (considering I would run faster than a cheetah...) I wasn't overly interested in district running. But then I saw _he _was lining up. No way would I lose against that Jerk-face!

I stood up and moved to my spot at the start of the track.

"Well, Erek, this is a surprise," said Mr Lenard, "You're trying out for districts considering your last grade was... a C plus?"

Had my grades really been that bad? Well, I guess I had to do poorly on something, just so people wouldn't get suspicious.

"Yes sir," I replied.

Mr Lenard sighed, "Very well, Erek." He then stood off to the side, "Okay everyone, one lap of the oval only. Everyone ready?"

Everyone replied with muffled replies of "Yeah" and "Yep."

"Three, two, one, GO!!!"

We all sped off down the track. I decided to stay nearly the middle positions for the first half of the race, just so anybody would be suspicious that one day I was awful at sport and the next day I was great.

I looked out a head so see Spencer in front. Somehow, in a mysterious and creepy way, his ankle had healed itself. While everyone else was starting to breathe heavily, he wasn't even breaking a sweat. Jerk-face. I decided now would be the perfect time to slowly overtake him and cross the finish line first.

I started picking up face and shot passed Spencer and into first place. Once the race was over, Spencer bent down, putting his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath. I grinned with satisfaction.

After about half a minute he stood up straight and turned towards me, "Hey! You're really fast. Good race!" He held at his hand, expecting me to shake it. When he saw I obviously wasn't interested, he quickly withdrew his hand.

"And not only that, you did it not even looking tired!" he then gave me this stare that made me feeling slightly uneasy. It wasn't just the stare; it was the way he said that sentence too. It was as if when he was saying it, that he knew I wasn't human. But of course he thought I was a human! What was I saying?! That Spencer knew?

"Yeah, well, I practice a lot," I muttered.

"Me too!" Spencer said happily.

I hated this kid.

&&&

_Tobias's P.O.V_

The school bell rang and rose into the air, in a warm thermal. I kept an eye out for Rachel. She promised to go flying with me this afternoon. Nobody else knew about this. I guess it was the only thing a hawk could really do with its girlfriend.

I swept down into a nearby park, and sat in the tree that I was to meet up with Rachel at. After about ten minutes she still hadn't turned up. Something was probably just holding her up. No problem. I could wait.

An African-American girl, with short bobbed hair and who was wearing rather formal clothes, sat down at the base of a tree. She then got out her phone, dialed and number and waited.

As much as I respect people's privacy, I couldn't help but overhear her conversation. She was sitting under the tree, for goodness sakes! Was I meant to just sit and pretend she wasn't there?

"It's me."

...

"Yeah. I used the binoculars Myers sent us. Turns out you were right."

...

"Yes, I didn't doubt you for a second. Like I said, you were right. This Erek kid definitely isn't human."

It was then I realized that everyone, especially Erek, was in really big trouble. I had to warn him.

&&&

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

I had wagged school. What else could I do? I knew that I couldn't face him yet, no matter how hard I tried. I just needed more time.

_Admitting your weakness is the first step to strength._

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Anne" as it now called itself, had been coughing up random fortune cookie messages all day. And it was starting to get seriously annoying.

_Could you be quiet? You're giving me a headache, _I said.

_And abandon my new job? Not likely._

New job? What did she mean by that? I didn't bother thinking about it. Heck, I didn't even have a clue who Anne was. She _was_ going to explain it to me in that very creepily realistic dream I had had the night before, but was interrupted by Jake and Cassie talking.

Anyway, like I was saying, I wagged school. I spent most of the day as a crow, riding the thermals above town. Occasionally I flew off over the woods and spotted my worst enemy. Mr. Centaur.

I was bored and had nothing else to do, so I decided to annoy the crap out of him for the remainder of the afternoon.

Ax (who still believes my name is Nishkak,) tilted his head upwards as I swooped down and landed in a nearby tree. And may I say he did _not _look pleased to see me. Oh well.

"Yo Centaur," I greeted. Of course, by now I knew his name was Ax, but I just wanted to see a reaction from him.

(Do not insult me, Nishkak. I am not a figure of human mythology.)

I grinned. As much as a crow could grin anyway.

"Oh right of course. Ax! COUGH murder COUGH how could I have been mistaken?"

(Shouldn't you be in one of the earth schools with all the other human youths?)

"I should be, but I'm not."

(But from I have learnt from human studies are correct, certain individuals would be much stressed that you did not show.)

"Pttf. Like Principal Chapman? Ax, you have a lot to learn."

(Yes, but I believe I am doing exceptionally well so far. I have learnt to fit into human society and have even learnt how to eat using a mouth. After much consideration, I decided that cinnamon buns and cigarette butts are among the most pleasurable of human delicacies to consume.)

"Riiiiight... Um, I'll be going now."

I flew off without saying anything more. That was one weird alien.

&&&

Next I went to the mall. I wasn't entirely sure what time it was, school had been let out already so the mall cops wouldn't pull me over and ask why I wasn't in school.

Luckily, I wasn't pulled over and spent most of my time staring into the windows of shops that were well beyond the limits of my budget. Not that I even had a budget. Yet.

"Hey Teh!"

I might have mentioned that I get snuck up on a lot. I quickly turned around to see Spencer approaching.

"Oh. Hi Spencer," I said.

"I thought you were sick," Spencer said.

I raised my eyebrow, "Why would I be sick?"

"It's just that... never mind. Anyway, how are you?"

"A little tired. But okay, I guess."

"Hey, I was wondering... well..."

"Go on," I urged. I was curious about what he had to say.

"Just if you wanted to come over to my house. You know, watch some movies, eat junk food - that kinda stuff."

I automatically froze. His house... I couldn't. But why couldn't I? Of course I could go over to his house. It's not like anything bad would happen if I went...

_Bad idea Tedahko, _warned "Anne." I ignored her. I could do whatever I damn wanted! And if it meant having a nice, _normal_ afternoon, then why not?

I had obviously been frozen for a while because Spencer said, "Oh, I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine."

"Actually, I think it sounds like a good idea."

Spencer grinned, looking like something really good had happened to him like he won the lottery.

"Okay, well, let's head off, huh?"

&&&

It didn't take us long to get to Spencer's house. It was only a few blocks away from the mall. When I entered his house the first thing I noticed was how clean it was. Everything looked new, including the wide-screen plasma TV.

"Alicia! We're home!" Spencer called out.

"We?!" Called back a female voice which somehow seemed awfully familiar.

"Yeah, I brought a friend home, hope that's okay."

Whoever Alicia was, she didn't reply.

"Okay, now that my sister knows we're home, how about we watch a movie?"

This seemed like a good idea, until we realized that the video cabinet was completely empty.

Spencer stared blankly into to the cabinet, "Oh... well... looks like _somebody _forgot to pack the videos."

I shrugged, "Don't worry about it."

"How about I help you practice your lines then?"

My... lines? MY LINES! I had forgotten about learning my lines and the play was tomorrow morning! What was I going to do?! WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO?!

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked.

"Oh, yeah! I'm fine! I was just a bit surprised you mentioned the play, that's all..."

"Because you think I wouldn't be cool with it since you're in it with Erek?"

"NO! I mean, no, that isn't the reason..."

Spencer did something I didn't expect him to do, he laughed.

"Teh, you don't have to lie to me. I'm totally cool with you and Erek being in the play. After all, I know you and Erek are just friends."

Just friends? Yeah, we were just friends. Spencer was right. What I had admitted to Tobias... it didn't matter.

"Yeah, just friends," I agreed. But why did I feel so uncertain?

"Okay then, I'll print your lines off the internet for you. Hang on..."

Spencer wondered off down the hallway of his house while I waited in the living room. I took this time to scope the place out. It wasn't a very big house, but everything in it had that brand new sparkling shine that you see on... well... new stuff. A part of me wondered where Spencer's aunty was. At least, I think he had mentioned he had an aunty. Maybe she was at work.

I sat down on the couch and hummed to myself like you do when you're all alone at somebody else's house. I noticed a magazine on the table. Surely Spencer wouldn't mind. I picked up the magazine, but I then noticed a pile of papers under the magazine. Unfortunately I didn't get a good look at it, as I quickly put the magazine back over the top because I heard Spencer coming back down the hallway. But I'm sure I saw the words "mission" "psychotic," and "UFO" in there. Normally I would have been suspicious, but Spencer _had _told me that he liked to write stories, so maybe it was a piece he had written or something.

_Tedahko, say you have to leave. This situation isn't going to turn out good, _"Anne" spoke up all of a sudden.

_And since when do I listen to my subconscious? _I asked smugly.

_Never. But that's not the point. I'm dead serious! Leave now!_

_Oh, shut up, _I requested politely.

_Don't you dare tell me to shut up you -_

Anne was cut off by Spencer. But I was starting to get the feeling that Anne had major anger management issues.

"So, ready to practice your lines?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess."

For the next half an hour we practiced lines. Spencer said he would do Erek's lines, even though he wasn't going to be in the play. He said that it would help me to remember my lines if he did read something out too.

I honestly had no idea why Erek "hated" Spencer so much. Spencer hadn't done anything to him! I wondered why he had said that. Said that he had hated him. But as much as I thought about it, the more confusing everything seemed to get. I was so angry at Erek, yet I was sorry at the same time. I had nothing to be sorry for! I mean, this was Erek's fault, not mine! It's not my fault if I want to have a _normal _friend. Heck, it's not my fault if I want a normal life.

I kind of expected Anne to chuck in a "normal is boring" quote or something, but she remained quiet.

Everything was fine. Until I was up to _the _scene.

"What's here? A cup, closed in my true love's hand?"

I hesitated. This was always the part I got stuck on.

"Poison, I hear..."

"See," Spencer corrected.

"Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end:  
O churl! Drunk all, and left no friendly drop  
To help me after? I will kiss thy lips;  
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,  
To make die with a restorative."

I paused after that scene, trying to recover from remembering the difficult part in the script.

Even if I was physic I wouldn't have foreseen what was going to happen next. I didn't want it to happen. I really didn't. But it did.

I felt Spencer's lips press gently against mine. And I knew I should have felt something. But all I felt was numb. All I felt was cold.

I quickly pulled back. Confused. Unsure. So many things.

"Spencer, I..."

My gaze involuntarily made its way towards the window. I saw somebody outside standing on the footpath. I saw him watching me. I saw his hurt but so blank expression. I saw him run off.

_Erek._

A new person stood there now. My so called subconscious. I knew it was just an illusion, I knew when I saw her she wasn't really there. But she looked so angry at me, so frustrated, so furious.

_What have you done!?_

**A/N: By now, I'd imagine everyone would be very steamed at Spencer. But you're meant to be. Don't worry; everything will work out in the end. Spencer is the antagonist, so no way in hell would I let him stay with Tedahko for long.**

**I've already wrote about half of the next chapter. It, sadly, does not contribute much to the plot. You'll see what I mean. Bwahahahaa. I've always wanted to do that ;D **

**On another note, I have officially given up on my Animorphs Gameboy Color Game. It is impossible to get past level one ;l Also, the game is so old it relies on typing in a code to start from your saved position instead of an actual save feature. But oh well, I'm a sucker for anything Animorphs. Not the most amusing game to play, but worth the six bucks US. Heh, the Hork-Bajir in it look like giant blue birds XD**

**Review pleeeease ;D**


	22. My Name is Anne

**A/N: Behold, a long and not-contributing-to-the-plot chapter! Yipee! The beginning kind of contributes, I guess. But the rest is pretty much pointless ;D Not much to say about this chapter, you'd just have to read it. But remember, reviewing goes a LOOOOONG way XD The next chapter is going to be possibly more exciting and its going to end with a CLIFFIE! ;D I love cliffies.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Animorphs, I would make the TV series more relevant to the actual books.**

**Credit: Tsaukpaetra for Beta reading, and Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for allowing me to use the name "Daniel" for Erek's dad.**

_Erek's P.O.V_

My name is Erek.

And never had I felt so betrayed.

I had just seen my best friend kiss the biggest jerk face on the planet. Not even Crayak could compete at this moment. As far as I knew Spencer could be a controller or something even worse. I was trying to be happy for her, I really was. I kept on thinking to myself, "Yeah, well, so what? She actually likes the jerk. No big deal."

No big deal? Right, no big deal. If she liked him, there was nothing at all wrong with it, nothing at all.

But then, why? Why did I feel so hurt?

I saw her hazel brown eyes stare back at me through the window. I saw those beautiful, brown eyes widen as she saw me when she had realized I had seen. She almost mouthed my name but then stopped herself. What was she thinking? What thoughts lay behind her eyes at that moment? I would never know.

You might have thought it would have been easy to walk away casually. If you did, you were never so wrong.

I wished I knew why I felt so hurt. God knows. Or at least the Ellimist probably knows.

I couldn't show any signs of weakness. I just couldn't, but I knew that she could see how hurt I looked. She could see me as I ran away.

I ran straight back to my house and stormed through the living room and up the stairs, nearly ramming into my "father."

"Hey Erek, by the way, Tobias came around looking for you earlier..." said my father, whose current human name is Daniel.

I ignored him and ran into my room and slammed the door.

"Teenagers..." I heard Daniel mutter to himself from the corridor.

I sat on the floor and curled into a ball, held my face in my hands. I hadn't felt this alone since I had overridden my programming and killed all those innocent creatures. Why was the room so cold? Why did I feel so cold?

**Flashback **

"Please, don't go out!" I whispered desperately after her. I watched as Tedahko got down to her knees and began crawling. She looked back at me and said;

"Either you can keep telling me not to go or you can follow me."

I felt frustrated. I couldn't physically stop her from crawling out towards Visser Three, my programming prohibited it. But if I followed her, both of us would be at risk and if worse came to worse, I wouldn't be able to protect her.

I sighed and got down to my knees beside her. We kept crawling until we were the farthest we could get without being spotted. Though I knew Tedahko made mistakes sometimes, she wasn't stupid. Obviously she had figured out that it wasn't a good idea to be seen by the Visser or the Hork-Bajir which were accompanying him.

Tedahko's eyes were fixed on Visser Three with something that might have been awe.

"An Andalite?" she whispered to herself.

I paused. Had she just said what I thought she said?

"What did you say?" I whispered back.

"Long story short, I found a really creepy book in my bag. It had a story about four kids a hawk and an alien called an Andalite turning into animals. Therefore, I've decided I shall call it an Andalite."

I just stared at her blankly. I was a bit short for words; that was for sure.

"Visser Three, may I just compliment you again on how excellent this plan was!" the human said.

(STOP YOUR BLUMBERING FOOL! Are the four Andalite Bandits secured in their cells?) That was Visser Three for you, as harsh as ever.

"Yes Visser Three..." the human stuttered

"Oh crud," I whispered to myself. It kind of slipped out. I didn't _mean _to give Tedahko any implication that something was terribly wrong. But on the other hand, she was bound to ask this question sooner or later.

"Spill, what's happening?"

Honestly, I thought about lying to her. But then I realised how lame it would sound. Just picture me saying, "Oh, well, you see that there? It's a deer painted blue! And the things next to it are giant lizards!" Somehow I didn't think that would go down to well.

I had no choice.

"Earth is being invaded my parasitic slugs called Yeerks," I whispered, "And some of those kids in the barn are trapped on that ship."

Tedahko didn't seem surprise by this, and muttered something to herself.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Just stay here."

"Wait but what are you -"

I watched as she quickly unzipped her bag that she had brought a long and took a cape and some knives. I wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, and I really didn't think I wanted to find out. She put on the cape and stared back at me. She had seemed so tense a moment ago but was so relaxed now.

"Erek, I'll be fine," she whispered, "But just in case I'm not..."

I didn't believe what happened then. I don't think I ever will. I saw her lean over and press her lips against my cheek. What was I meant to feel? Was I meant to feel happy, sad or angry?

Or maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing. Yeah, that had to be it. I knew she didn't feel that way about me. She was rushing off to do something stupid, what was she meant to do?

But what was I meant to do?

That kiss. I didn't know how to describe it.

But it felt good. I know, it sounds funny coming from an android, but when she kissed me on the cheek, I had never felt so human. So alive.

But when I was thinking about all this, in no way was I aware that everything would be in vain.

**End Flashback**

I lifted my head from its position in my hands as I heard a tap against the window pane. Getting up was not one of the things I felt like doing at the moment. But if it was one of the Animorphs that needed the assistance of the Chee, then I couldn't refuse.

I got up to see Tobias sitting on the sill of the window, waiting patiently for me to open the window. Once I opened the window, I was met by his fierce hawk glare. I expected he would say something about a mission or that he needed the Chee's help, but instead he said, (Erek... have you been crying?)

I froze at his words, silently telling myself off for being not controlling the actions of my hologram. Quickly, I wiped my face to neutral.

(Oh... never mind,) said Tobias. He flew into the room and landed on the bed. I closed the window and faced him.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

(Erek, you're in really big trouble. And I mean really big.)

So far I didn't like what Tobias was saying.

"What's happened?"

Tobias explained to me about what he had seen.

(So what should we do?) he asked.

"To be honest, I don't know myself," I admitted, "But this is seriously not good. If the FBI, NSA or anything found out about the Chee, then we'd all be well and truly dead."

(Good point. I'll talk to Jake and the others. Try to keep a low profile, okay?)

I agreed. I walked over the window and opened it. Tobias flew through it and back to where he came from.

The identity of the Chee was at stake. I should have been worried, but there was something else occupying my mind then.

&&&

My name is Anne. My last name? It wouldn't be a name that you would recognize. Not many people do these days. They all think I'm gone. Everybody does.

I stared back fiercely at her and she stared emotionlessly back at me. Did she know what she had done wrong? Did she see the so many foolish mistakes she had made? You never really knew with Tedahko. The girl was so thick-headed.

"Spencer I can't- we can't."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that..."

"I should go." Tedahko stood up and left.

"About time," I said, blocking myself off from Tedahko so she wouldn't hear. I had to block myself off from her to stop her hearing me make unsmart remarks that would have landed me in hot water. _He_ had warned me again: only say what was necessary.

I felt her emotions surge through me as she walked out the door of Spencer's house. She felt upset, confused, lonely, unsure and guilty to name a few. But overall, she felt like she was going to cry.

I felt like saying to her, "You shouldn't be crying! It's your fault you even fell into this situation." But as much as I was tempted, I knew it was unnecessary. I had gotten too cocky before with what I had said, and had revealed too many things to her. One of those was my name. Apparently _he _thought it was easier if she didn't know who I was, if she didn't know my story.

I couldn't say I agreed.

She walked at a fast down the street, away from Spencer's house.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked out loud. I sighed to myself. Here comes the blame game.

_I didn't do anything._

"Don't tell me that crap! I know you have done something!"

She was so stubborn and naïve. I considered not answering her. After all, it would be "unnecessary." But in the end, I guess I had to leave her with an answer.

_Do you still think that I have some control over fate? _I asked with a laugh, _Tedahko, you control your own fate. Your actions lead to your future._ I grinned to myself after saying those words. Perfect "fortune cookie" response, as Tedahko would put it and I was sure _he_ would approve of it and not tell me off for saying unnecessary things.

"But..." Tedahko paused for a second, and then I felt her puzzlement fill me. "Your accent..." she began.

I had then realised how stupid and careless I had been. I had forgotten to cloak my accent!

"It was American to begin off with..." she continued, "but when you said that sentence, it was Irish."

_He_ wasn't going to like this...

I remained silent.

_Well? _She demanded, except this time in thought.

_Well, congratulations. You've learnt something new about me. Now can we change the subject?_

_No, we can't._

I frowned to myself. I wasn't going to let her milk any more information out of me. I wasn't!

_Who are you, Anne? _She asked.

I remained silent. It wasn't that I didn't want to answer her; it was that I wasn't allowed.

_What happened to "let him see through you" huh? _She asked again.

I frowned and blocked myself off from her.

"Ellimist!" I called. A part of me wondered if he would even show up. The Ellimist wasn't the most reliable guy around. In fact, to be quite blunt he normally never answered me when I called for him. But this time was different.

_He_ appeared in front of me. He was in the form of a blue, holographic levitating man which he liked to use so much. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. I'd never understand this guy.

**Yes, Anne?** He asked, his voice echoing from everywhere at the same time.

"Don't 'Yes Anne' me," I replied, narrowing my eyes, "you already know what I want."

**Yes, I do. But I cannot grant your request. Crayak is already growing suspicious. **

I rolled my eyes, "We've been through this. Crayak already knows about the whole "Tedahko is the last user of magic on earth" situation. Besides, how am I meant to help her if she knows nothing about me?"

**Many have helped others without being known, **he replied. Gee, and Tedahko thought I sounded like a fortune cookie.

"Yeah, whatever! But Ellimist, answer this: is it so wrong for me to _want _her to know who I am? Is it so wrong to _want _to tell her my story?"

The Ellimist was silent for a few seconds, as if considering. In this time, I got an idea.

"Okay Ellimist, here's the deal: You let me tell her my story, or I start calling you that name that Crayak called you the other day when you were having a bicker over the Benansk home world," I grinned, "What was is again, '_Toomin_ it noodles'?"

_Anne? _Tedahko called out. How stubborn, she hadn't given up on it.

The Ellimist looked surprising calm, but I could tell I had agitated him, so I was happy.

**Very well, it is a deal.**

The Ellimist disappeared into thin air and I connected with her mind again. Before answering her, I took a look around. We were in another park. Seriously, I don't know what is up between Tedahko and parks, but she tends to end up in them quite a lot.

_Fine Tedahko, _I replied, _You want to know who I am? I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything._

And then I began telling her my story.

* * *

**Four years earlier...**

"Hey Trevor, wait up!"

My voice echoed through the school hallway as I ran towards Trevor.

"Ah, greetings Anne. I trust you are well?"

I laughed and shook my head. Trevor was my best friend. He was also weird, good at math and had an extremely long name. I think his first name was Etrevik or something. I made the assumption he was Russian, and decided to nickname him Trevor because I was horrible when it came to remembering foreign names.

"Yeah, I'm good," I replied wearily, "I'm just tired from the excessive amount of homework Miss Lawson gives us."

Being at one of the richest private schools around, it was only natural that I would get a heap of homework. But I was finding it hard to cope, and even harder to fit it.

I had grown up in Ireland. When I was 15, my American father and Irish mother had decided to move to America with me. My father had gotten a really high-paying job offer there, and thus began my life in America.

Let me tell you, life was not easy. I had found it extremely difficult fitting in anywhere because none of the girls in the school had any similar interests as me. I guess that was the reason I was kinda drawn to Trevor: we were both outsiders.

"You believe that it is difficult to do human algebra?" Trevor laughed, "Please tell me that you are not serious, Anne."

I scolded, "Like to see you do it."

Trevor took my workbook and textbook from me and sat down in the middle of the hallway, almost falling over at his attempt to sit down. Don't ask me how falling over when you're trying to sit down is possible, I don't really know myself. All the students passing us gave us this "You're weird stare." I suppose I had gotten use to it, but that didn't mean I liked it.

"Uh, Trev... I wasn't serious."

He didn't hear me though. He was too busy writing away. After about fifteen more seconds he said, "I believe I am finished."

I narrowed my eyes, "Finished? Trevor, you completed three pages of work in less than twenty seconds!"

He was silent before saying, "I am very sorry Anne. I must go." He quickly scrunched up all of my work that he had completed and took off down the hallway.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" I demanded. He didn't answer me. That was Trev for you. Here one minute, gone the next.

&&&

"Trevor, where were you?!" I asked Trevor when I saw him at lunch. I was furious that he had just walked off without saying where he was going.

"I needed to..."

I put my hand up, indicating for him to stop, "Don't want to know."

"Anger is not a good thing to have, Anne."

"What anger?" I demanded angrily, "I am so not angry."

Trevor smiled at me awkwardly and continued to work on his math assignments over the lunch table. I looked curiously down at his work. All of it looked like gibberish to me. Seriously, it looked way over anything that they would teach in middle school, high school, or university for that matter.

"I don't get how you can be such a genius," I commented, "You're good at everything!" Well, that wasn't entirely true. He had gotten C's in science, mainly because he kept on interrupting the teacher and claiming what she was teaching was wrong. And cooking... better left unsaid.

"You think that my work in primitive human math is "genius?" Trevor asked curiously.

"Uh, well, yeah."

I then watched with utter bewilderment as he scrunched up his work and took out a new piece of paper.

"Hey! You could have given it to me!" I complained. "I would have gotten an A for sure!"

"But that would be cheating would it not?"

"But -" I didn't bother finishing that sentence and sighed angrily to myself. I stuck a mouthful of mashed potatoes in my mouth. This school was the richest and most high class in the state, yet they served the same gruelling crap as any other school. The mash potato tasted like somebody had spat in it. That thought took me off eating mash potatoes, so I pushed my lunch over to Trevor.

"Mashed potato crap and cheap brand gravy?" I offered.

"I am fine, Anne. You know that I do not eat at lunch."

Trevor was like that. I had known him for almost a year and never once had I seen him eat at school.

"Oh come on, mash potatoes won't kill you."

Trevor looked down at the tray of mash potato, as if it was a difficult puzzle he had to decode. He picked up the fork and poked it cautiously.

I nodded, urging him to go on. Besides, I certainly didn't want to eat the mashed potatoes and gravy. Trevor scooped up the mash potato and put it in his mouth. He then made an "Mmm!" Sort of noise like it was the best revolting crap he had ever tasted.

"This! This is delicious!" he shouted. "shus! Del-iiii-shus! Us!"

By now, I was more than freaked out, but I became even more scared when Trevor started running around to everyone and stealing their food.

"Trevor!" I called after him. I ran after him, grab him by the shirt, and tugged him away from the chicken burger her was drooling at. Angrily, I shoved him back into his seat.

"Now I can see why you can't eat cafeteria food," I muttered.

* * *

_I've figured it out, _Tedahko said to me.

I nodded. She couldn't see me nod. No, it would be more like feeling. She wouldn't actually be seeing me, but she would know I was doing it.

_Yes. You know, for a user of magic you have a lot more logic that I would of thought._ I said to her, _It's just the emotional logic you seem to have trouble with._

_Gee, thanks Anne, _she replied sarcastically.

* * *

_You're welcome. Now let's skip to about a year later in the story. _

Our friendship had grown tighter over the next year. Sure, he was weird, abnormal, and different. But I liked him. I knew that our friendship was becoming something more, or at least I felt it was. I didn't want to say anything to him though. To be honest, I was scared that he didn't feel the same way.

"Hey Trev," I greeted as I sat down next to him at lunch, "Watcha readin'?"

"I am reading an ancient legend of a place on the planet called "China." It is the tale of Altair and Vega. The rate that you absorb information through what you humans call "books" is really quite amazing," Trevor commented.

"Yeah, human technology is just amazing, isn't ET?" I said with a laugh. I thought Trevor was being Trevor. At the time, I wasn't suspicious.

"Only books and television, Anne. I have discovered that all the other technology on this planet is way inferior than that of the Anda-" He stopped himself.

"Inferior than that of the... what?" I asked cautiously.

"It does not matter."

I laughed to myself. Sometimes I could have sworn Trevor wasn't even from this world.

"Hey Trev... there's something I've been meaning to ask you..."

"What is it?"

"Well... erh... you know how the school dance is coming up...?"

Trevor looked at me blankly and said, "What is a 'school dance'?"

I almost fell over from shock. Trevor didn't know what a school dance was? Gee, the guy must have been more clueless than I thought.

"You mean... you didn't have school dances in Russia?" I asked.

"What is Russia?"

Okaaaaay.... This conversation obviously was going nowhere. I decided to try my best to explain to him what a school dance was to him in a language he would understand - "Nerdlish." Or at least I presumed he always spoke Nerdlish. He must of. He still referred to everyone as "humans" and about how primitive we were. The thought of him even being delusional always seemed to come to mind, too. Though, he did not look like the delusional type. With his short black hair and dark eyes, he looked... normal. And maybe a bit cute, too...

"It's a gathering that humans attend in pairs in order to shuffle their artificial feet on the dance floor," I explained in Nerdlish.

Trevor frowned, "Oh. But I do not have another human that I can attend with."

"Uh, me, Duh."

"You would be so kind to take me as your partner to this 'school dance'?" He asked.

"Well, yeah..."

"Thank you, Anne. Maybe I should try to immerse myself in human culture more."

I just laughed.

&&&

It was the night of the school dance and I had spent ages doing my hair and makeup. I wasn't the kind of girl who was really into makeup, and I really doubted Trevor would care, but this was the school dance. I wanted to feel special, beautiful.

That night was probably the best night of my life, besides from when Trevor ate all of the cupcakes and threw up all over the dance floor. It didn't matter to me, though. I was just glad to be there, with him.

I remember clearly as we danced on that floor that night. I remember him saying to me,

"I'm really glad to be here with you Anne."

I rested my head on his shoulder as we continued dancing to some sappy love song.

"Yeah, I'm glad to be here with you too."

Neither of other said anything for a very long time. We didn't need to. Nothing that I could have said, that he could have said, would make this night more perfect.

We left the school dance holding hands. He walked me home. It was perfect. The only thing that I did find unusual was a TV reporter, reporting a story about how the community hall had been vandalised. We walked through the background, and were in sight of the camera. I never thought much about it. But I never knew it was going to changed everything.

I finally arrived back at my house. I went to bed as soon as I got home, however, I didn't get much sleep. All I did was lay in bed, thinking about the dance, and Trevor. I know it might sound naïve and childish, but I loved him. I really did.

I woke up the next morning, which was a Saturday. Slowly, made my way into the living room and switched on the TV. Some morning news/talk show was on.

"And now, on more news," said the blond news lady, "A boy that has been missing for years has been reported to have been seen in the background of an article reported by channel ten."

"Matthew Rowe, who would now be 15, had been reported missing since April two years ago; he is believed to have disappeared when on his way home from school."

A picture of him was displayed on the screen. I stopped breathing. Oh my god. The black hair, the dark eyes... it was... it was Trevor!

I didn't think. I leapt off the couch and ran through the front door. I needed to find him! I didn't know why, but I needed to. After I had ran two blocks, I came to Trevor's house. It was a nice looking suburban house, with a flower garden out the front. Unimportant. I banged on their door.

"Trevor!" I yelled, "Trevor, open up!" After nobody had answered after a minute of my screaming and shouting, I was ready to break down there and then.

But then Trevor's father answered the door.

"I am sorry Anne, but Etrevik is still asleep."

"Bull!" I spat, and pushed my way in.

"Trevor!" I shouted again.

Trevor's father looked at me with a dark and perhaps slightly scary look in his eyes, "Leave, Anne."

At that moment Trevor came running through the living room. I was actually about to burst out laughing, because I noticed Trevor had socks on his hands, but I was too panicked in the end.

"Anne! What's wrong?!"

Trevor's father closed the door. "I believe she saw the news article."

"Trevor, we have to leave! This man is evil! He kidnapped you!"

"Etrevik, we must leave. The Yeerks are probably already on our tail."

I had no idea what the Yeerks were, and I didn't really care.

"Trevor!" I shouted again. I was on the verge on having a mental breakdown.

"Calm down, Anne. The human you saw on the news, he was not me."

"Can't you see Trevor?" I shouted, trying to stop the tears from streaking my face, "This man has brainwashed you!"

"Follow me, Anne," he said simply. He walked into the living room. I wondered if I should follow. But I knew I didn't really have a choice.

"Anne, I have to go very soon. But before I leave, there is something I need to tell you." He said this as he walked around the living room, closing all the curtains.

"Etrevik-Sirinial-Follian! You shall not tell this human anything!"

"Shut up!" I spat, "he can tell me whatever he damn well wants!"

"You are pushing my patience, human!" his father yelled back at me.

Trevor put his hand out, indicating for him to stop, "That is enough, Maratonk. This is my decision, not yours."

Trevor's father shot him a dirty look and left the room.

"Trevor, we have to get out of here, we have to -"

"Anne," he said, "I want you to know the truth. Anne, I am not from this planet."

That was probably the sentence I had always expected him to say, though he hadn't done it until now. But I wasn't in the condition of laughing my head off at that moment.

"No, Trevor! You just think that! This man, he has brainwashed you, he has -"

"No, he has not brainwashed me," he said, "Anne, I am not from this world, I am not human, but from the race called the Andalites."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, I get it! This all a prank! This is all some sick joke!"

(No Anne. It is not.)

I froze stiff and didn't move. There was a... a voice. I looked at Trevor and he nodded.

(I want you to see what I really look like.)

It was then that I watched my best friend slowly transform into a blue alien that looked like a centaur. It was... horrifying. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth. I just stood there until I earned up the courage to say,

"So, you're not from Russia?"

Trevor smiled. Not with a mouth (because he didn't have one), but with his eyes, (No, I am not.)

He then turned serious again, (I have to go Anne. I am sorry, but we are in danger, and you are also. I want you to leave this house, and run as far as you can.)

I had no idea what to do. Only a day ago, I was dancing with him. And now... and now...

"No." I said sternly, "Trevor, take me with you. I don't care that you're an alien! I can't stand the thought of not being around you."

(Etrevik!) Yelled another voice, (We must get to the ship!)

(I am sorry,) he said sadly, (We will be like Altair and Vega, Anne. I will find you. I will come back for you.)

He ran out of the room, out of the house. That was the last I ever saw of him. I broke down in tears then. I cried in that same spot for what seemed like hours, I felt so numb, so cold.

&&&

A year passed and I had fallen into depression. I didn't speak to anybody, in fact, I didn't speak at all. I was so alone.

I wondered why he hadn't come back for me. I wondered where he was. Then I started to block that stuff out. It was hurting me so much...

I never got over it. But I found a way to get rid of the pain. An organization called the Sharing. I never truly opened up to anyone there, but they made me feel better. We went on picnics, camps, all of that junk.

Then, at one of the camps, I was asked if I wanted to become a full member of the Sharing, an exclusive status only for people they saw worthy. I agreed, and was infested later that day.

My Yeerk was Visser 51. She made me fake my own death, so she could go into Anati Space. I had asked her why she was doing this, why she was screwing up my life.

(Because you humans are so pathetic,) she replied, and then laughed, (and after all this, you still believe your little Andalite boyfriend will come back for you. You are so foolish.)

We spent half a year on the Anati home world before we headed back to earth. One day, we got a call from a higher Visser, requesting us to take up guard positioning at a complex for the company "Matcom." My Yeerk didn't really know about what she was guarding, but agreed anyway. She was like that and rarely paid any attention to Visser Three, since she liked doing things her own way. Although it's not like she really had a choice. If she refused, Visser Three would have simply starved her from Kandrona rays.

We were guarding the complex with a standard amount of Hork-Bajir one night when the alarm went off. The supposed "Andalite Bandits" were there and trying to make an escape.

Visser 51 kept on firing her Dracon beam, but at the same time tried to stay clear off the big battle at the same time. I pleaded her to stop as I saw the Andalite Bandits laying there, dying... and she just laughed. We ran fast across the room and I saw a glimpse of another Visser in the body of an old lady. My Yeerk hated this Visser, whoever she was, and decided to leave the fight.

Somehow, I felt a blow from behind. Something had... attacked me. But how was that possible? The Andalite Bandits were dying!

I didn't get much time to wonder. I was free now. Free from that horrible monster living in my head. Everything was fading... fading...

_He_ came to me, an old man, illuminated in blue.

I was actually going to ask him if he was God. Now I'm glad I didn't.

All I asked was, "Am I free?"

**Yes Anne. You are free.**

I smiled to myself. That was good, I was free.

**Tell me Anne, what is it that you desire most?**

I thought about it for a moment, but I already knew the answer, "Him."

He nodded; a very human like expression, **I want to make a deal with you.**

I looked at the guy who I thought was God skeptically, "What kind of deal?"

**What you desire most, Anne. Help me, and what you desire most will be yours.**

_I didn't need to respond, he already __knew my answer._

* * *

She had so many questions for me, I knew.

_Wow Anne, _she said, _I really had no idea... do you... do you think you will ever see him again? _She asked.

I shook my head. She wouldn't have been able to see me do it, but she would be able to feel it. _I don't believe I will see him again. But I hope I will._

_But what does the Ellimist guy have to do with me? _She asked.

_He doesn't tell me much, Tedahko. All I know is that if I help you, I'll get what I most desire in the end. _

We were silent for a few minutes. Neither of us said anything.

_You know, there was a particular reason why I told you all this, _I said.

I felt her curiosity surge through me, _Why?_

_Sometimes, it isn't about what is normal or abnormal. It isn't about what is right or wrong. Soon, you might be making a big decision. It might even be one which could change the course of your life._

_That's nice and all, _she said, _but I still don't get the lesson in all of this._

_You still don't get the lesson?_ I asked, _you never know what you have until it's gone. That is the lesson._

She was quiet but then said, _Anne, I have to know..._

_Yes?_

_What's with the alarm clock thing?_

I laughed;

_I wish I knew._

**A/N: So maybe it isn't the most exciting chapter on earth. But I just thought that Anne's story deserved to be told ;D There was something else I needed to say too... but, well, I forgot XD Gosh, it is friggin' boiling in Australia right now. The office feels like a sauna -_-' Summers in Australia are really, really hot. Especially in the part of Australia I live in. Thankgod I have aircon.**

**Review please! It makes me very happy.**


	23. How to Say Sorry

_**A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. You were all expecting a chapter with the play in it. But I just felt this chapter **____**had **__**to be done. As the sappy title of this chapter suggests, it's all about saying sorry. Awww, don't we all like sappy mush? Despite this chapter not having the play in it, I think it is probably one of the funniest chapters I've wrote so far. Yes, I admit I have problems when it comes to writing humor. Heh, I just spelled humor "humour" then. Australian spelling XD I also just spelled "spelt" just then, which is considered correct by Australian spelling standards. I think. Just as well that I have the language setting on Open Office on English (USA) instead of English (AU.) So enjoy a mushy friendship chapter. Bwahaha. Oh yes, one more thing. I am sorry I have been extremely slack at replying to reviews lately (I've been on holidays in Sydney...) So from now on, if you post a review, I promise to reply. Regarding I haven't fallen off a cliff or anything.**_

_**Credit:**__** My excellent Beta-Reader Tsaukpaetra for Beta-Reading.**_

_ **Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for Erek's father's name (Daniel.)**_

_ **cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name (Spencer. Duh.)**_

_ **vodooqueen126 for bothering to go to the effort to post 22 reviews simultaneously.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__** If I owned Animorphs, I would have enough money to go to America and stalk all the actors from the TV show. Especially the guy who played Erek XD Seriously though, I will one day ;D We should so put together an Ani-fangirl squad. LOL**_

_**I don't own Twisties, and really have nothing against them. So for any of you Twistie obsessives out there, it's nothing personal.**_

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

I understood her better now.

I had known for some time that she wasn't really my subconscious. What I didn't know was who and what she was. If I said I wasn't scared of her at times, I would be lying. But little did I know she was the one which had really had it hard.

_My bonnie lies over the ocean,_

Anne had been through hell. She had lost everything. Was that the only reason she was helping me? Because she had nothing left to lose? Because she wanted what she desired most? I had to ask myself that question. Was she using me?

_My bonnie lies over the sea,_

Despite this, to some extent, I understood her. Hearing about Anne, it just made me think over everything that had ever happened to me. She had it harder than me, I knew. She had lost her life before she was even dead. I still had a life, but when I thought about, who do I have to care about? I mean, Anne was technically dead, but she still loved Trevor. It made me quite jealous of her. Silly, I know, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't have anyone.

_That's not true,_ said Anne, who stopped her singing. Yes, unfortunately, she could sing. What was even more unfortunate was that she could sing in Gaelic. I had begged her not to sing in Gaelic. The good news was she agreed, bad news was she could still sing in English.

Anne had decided that she should be a lot more open towards me, since I knew who she was now. She said to me that there was no reason why she could keep anything from me, including her singing. Don't get me wrong, her singing was beautiful. It just got annoying when she sung all afternoon.

_Really? _I asked, _If you're so smart, then name someone I care about._

_Spencer?_

I began unwillingly coughing very loudly.

_What's the matter?_ Anne asked smugly.

_It's just the... erh...pollen... of these yellow flowers. I am in a meadow of them after all. Oh, and you're right, by the way._

_No I'm not._

_What? But of course you're right! After all, Spencer is taking me to the dance._

I felt Anne's grin and amusement flow through me, _I just wanted to see your reaction._

_What's that meant_ _to mean?! _I demanded angrily. Who did Anne think she was, playing these games with me?

_It means that I know you don't like Spencer that way._

_I have no idea what you're talking about, _I replied, trying to cover up the lying tone in my voice.

_Oh, stop being so denying and admit it, _she said, _I know who you really like._

_Oh yeah, then who? _I felt my stomach twist into tight knots. I knew what she was going to say. I just didn't want to hear it. She was going to say... she was going to say...

_Marco._

I burst into the loud unwilling coughing fit once more, and called Anne a five letter word which wouldn't be acceptable to say out loud.

_The way the girls at my school said it sounded much better, _she said, _Also, I'm just playing with you, by the way. I know you care about Erek._

I felt my face burn up and my cheeks turn red, _What? No! I mean, as a friend, yes. But not... that way. Of course not!_

_So naïve... _Anne muttered to herself, _you never know what you have until it's gone._

_I'm not naive!_

Anne just sighed and went quiet.

I then heard the sounds of fluttering wings. I looked over to my left curiously as a hawk fluttered and landed on a nearby branch.

"Hey, Tobias." Tobias and I are related. Kind of hard to believe since he's a hawk, although he's really just a boy in the body of a hawk.

(Hi Tedahko, what's up?)

I shrugged, "Nothing really."

(Do you mind if I talk to you about something?)

"Go ahead."

I heard the sound of Tobias ruffle his feathers. I didn't bother turning to face him. His voice was clear enough for me to hear from where I was. And besides, I couldn't be bothered to turn around, as I was too busy enjoying the cool sensation of wind blowing on my face.

(It's about Erek.)

I felt Anne grin with satisfaction.

_Shut up, Anne._

_Make me._

"Uh, yeah. What about him?"

(Look, it's not really my place to say... but I think he misses you.)

"No he doesn't..." I muttered quietly to myself. Tobias still managed to hear though, probably because hawks have much better hearing than a human.

(Think what you want. I know that you two aren't in a really good place at the moment, Tedahko.)

I clenched my fist. Someone must have blabbed.

(But think about it, wouldn't it be better performing that play tomorrow and knowing that everything is good between you and Erek?)

I knew what he was implying. But thinking about it... it just seemed so hard to accomplish at this time. As far as I knew, Erek probably hated me at the moment. The look on his face... he had looked so hurt. But why?

_Because he cares about you, you moron! _Anne shot in angrily, trying to get her point across.

"Whatever," I replied to Tobias. Maybe he would think I didn't care. Maybe...

(Well, okay. Just thought I would let you know. Now if you excuse me, I have dinner to catch.)

I watched as he flew away and sighed to myself.

_He's right you know._

_About what?_ I asked, just to irritate her.

_For god sakes, just make up._

_  
&&&_

"Anne, I can't do this," I muttered. I stared at the 7 Eleven which I had seen Erek walk into only a few minutes before.

_Of course you can! _Anne said, _It's simple. Just go inside and talk to him._

I frowned. Was it really that simple? All I had to do was walk inside and apologize and everything would be okay again? No, surely not. Erek probably hated me, and after disappearing, he probably thought I hated him too. So what was I meant to say? "Oh, hey Erek! Yes, I walked off the face of the Earth! I want to apologize for that." That would so not go down well.

_Or, _Anne began, _You can sit here like a complete idiot and wait until he sees you._

_But then he'll know I was waiting for him! _I complained.

_And is there a problem with that? Listen, here's the deal - You walk in, you two make up, and I won't sing for an entire week._

Hmm, tempting. And maybe I was wrong and Anne wasn't just in this for herself. Why would she give up her right to sing for a week just to help me and Erek make up?

I must have looked like an idiot standing there. My face was completely blank, as I weighed up the pros and cons of each option.

_Can't I just wait?_ I asked, when I realized the cons out-weighed the pros by far.

_Mi 'n seo air bòrd air long nan ròp, 'gur brònach -_

"Fine! Fine! I'm going! Sheesh."

I started towards the entrance. I recalled how scared I was when I was being chased by the centaur- erh, I mean Ax. Thinking about it, I was twice as scared now as I was then. The thing was, I didn't know why.

_It's all in your head, _Anne reminded me.

"This coming from you," I muttered.

I walked into the 7 Eleven, secretly praying that Erek wouldn't see me. There was only one way I could avoid directly approaching him: to seem fascinated by a certain product on the shelf, wait until Erek spotted me, and make it all look like everything was merely coincidental.

Heading for the chips aisle, I made sure I was careful not to be spotted by Erek, who I could see through the rows of chip bags. I then randomly selected a chip bag from the shelf: Twisties. Now what was I going to do? Only one thing occurred to me -

_Life's pretty straight without Twisties, Life's pretty straight without Twisties, Life's pretty straight without Twisties..._

I read the same motto about ten times over and over again. Anne didn't say a word, but I could tell I had ticked her off. I then realized at that moment how stupid the Twisties motto was. Life's straight without Twisties? You have got to me kidding me. My life had more twists and turns than any of those stupid salespeople could imagine.

"Teh ?"

I shot around at a hundred miles per hour, ready to start with the whole "Oh, hey Erek! Yes, I walked off the face of the Earth! I want to apologize for that," thing, but...

I came face to face with Spencer.

&&&

_Erek's POV_

I was at 7 Eleven buying milk. It was taking my mind of what I saw, not that there was a problem with what I saw. If Tedahko liked him, then I didn't have a problem with it. Nope. That didn't mean that I liked that jerk-face Spencer, though. That jerk-face. How dare he kiss her! He had no right to! The guy was probably a Yeerk, trying to lure Tedahko into his trap.

My mind went back to yesterday when Spencer had zapped me with that machine. Unusual. Tobias had said a bunch of NSA agents knew who I was. Also, some NSA agents had raided my "father's" office a few days back. I wonder if Spencer was somehow related to these NSA agents. But surely not, he was only my age (or at least the age I was pretending to be.) There was no way the government would trust within someone that young to keep the country secure. But still, it would be worth it to make sure. I decided I ring Jake later and organize a meeting with the Animorphs.

So anyway, I was picking up some milk from 7 Eleven when I spotted Tedahko. She was staring at... a pack of Twisties I didn't bother asking myself why. Instead, I decided to approach her and apologize. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, I had calmed down from before. I had realized that if she liked Spencer that much, I should be happy for her. But like I said before, I still wasn't going to let Spencer off the hook.

So I went up to apologize to her. Only I was beaten to it, by Spencer, who was holding a big bouquet of flowers. Knowing Spencer, he was probably telling Tedahko all this mushy crap and lies that jerk-faces tell girls just to lure them in and get them infested by evil alien slugs. Not that I have a problem with them being together, not at all.

I walked past behind Spencer and shot Tedahko a disapproving look. She mouthed something back to me but I couldn't decode it. I paid for my milk and left.

When I was about five minutes down the road, I heard the sound of running footsteps behind me.

"Erek! Wait up!"

I turned around to see Tedahko running after me. Great, she was probably going to tell me how nice her new boyfriend was. I sighed bitterly, didn't reply, and began walking faster. She finally caught up and stood in front of me.

"Erek, please. I just want to talk."

I wondered if I should give her a chance. Maybe she didn't really hate me after all.

"About your new boyfriend?" I asked acidly. I was shocked as soon as the words escaped my mouth. "I'm sorry, I -"

Tedahko cut me off, "No, it's okay. Also, you might want to be careful. You dropped your hologram for about two seconds in the 7 Eleven. I don't think the shop assistant saw though."

I silently scolded myself. I had been too reckless with the way I had been controlling my hologram lately. If Maria found out... well, it didn't matter. I wasn't going to let her find out. It then occurred to me that my "father", Lourdes, and I were the only Chee who knew that Tedahko knew about us and at one stage was living with us. Yeah, Maria definitely COULD NOT find out about this. She was ticked enough when the Animorphs found out about the Chee.

"Oh, did I? I hadn't noticed."

Tedahko looked confused, as if she wasn't sure whether I was being sarcastic or not.

"I'm being serious," I said.

"Oh," she replied.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"As if you don't already know," she replied.

"Uh no, I don't."

"Erek, we can't let stupid little things get in the way of our friendship."

It shocked me she was so upfront about it. Normally Tedahko would try and beat around the bush until she got to the point like that.

"After the way I acted, you're not angry at me?" I asked suspiciously.

She shook her head, "I guess I was angrier at myself more than anyone else. Anne helped me learn that."

"Who's Anne?"

Tedahko looked like a kid who had been caught doing something wrong."Erh, no-one. Like I was saying, the fight we are in is both pointless and stupid."

"I agree. Tedahko, I'm sorry I acted like a -" I stopped myself. I was going to say jerk, but that word was reserved for Spencer, "loser. I shouldn't criticize your taste of people." I laughed to myself and lowered my voice to a whisper, in case anyone overheard, "Besides, you are hanging out with an incredibly smart android who is thousands of years old and is fluent in Mesopotamian."

Tedahko laughed and punched me playfully, "You're so full of yourself."

"So, I guess we're friends again, huh?" I asked.

"Guess so," Tedahko replied, grinning.

"Come on," I said, "We better go home. Assuming that you don't want to sleep in a dumpster that is."

She frowned, "Lourdes told you?"

"Via the Chee-net."

"Chee what?"

"Never mind. Come on, let's go back."

"Give me half an hour," she replied. "There are a few things I need to pick up from..." she looked slightly embarrassed, "Cassie's barn."

"Okay, sure," I replied, "Meet you at my house in half an hour?"

"See you there."

&&&

_Ax's P.O.V_

I galloped across the wide, open meadow, adsorbing nutrients from the grass into my hooves. This meadow was one of my particular favorites to feed in. The grass was lush and green, and it was too far out for hikers to venture out to.

I looked up at the sky and my good mood instantly vanished. A lone crow flew gently in the air, and landed on the grass in front of me. I arched my tail.

The crow suddenly began to glow in an unusual neon blue color and with a flash , turned into the Nishkak.

Nishkak is the Andalite word for witch. There are many folklore tales that are told to Andalite children about Nishkaks. They are believed to be gruesome creatures, who's only intentions are to wreak havoc and despair upon our people. There is... something remotely different about this one, though, the human girl which calls herself Tedahko. But although she does not appear to be evil, I still do not trust her.

"'Sup Centaur," she greeted cheerfully.

(Nishkak,) I replied, (Why is it that you are here?)

"Is Tobias around?"

(I do not believe my Shorm is nearby.)

She frowned, "Oh. Well can you pass on a message for me?"

(I believe I can.)

"Tell him I said thanks."

I watched as the Nishkak turned back into her form of a crow and flew off into the sky. Humans are such bizarre creatures. Sometimes I wonder if I would ever understand them.

&&&

_Erek's P.O.V_

Tedahko was about ten minutes late arriving home. It was unusual she took so long, considering the only thing she had to collect from Cassie's barn was -

"A Dracon Beam?"

"Yup," replied Tedahko, "I found it in a dumpster. I thought it was a flashlight at the time, you see." She ran up the stairs happily to put her new found treasure in her room.

"Made up with Tedahko, eh?" Asked the Chee posing as my father, whose human name is currently Daniel .

"Yeah," I replied, "We decided it wasn't worth fighting over something so stupid and that we should be friends again."

"Well," said Daniel, "You picked a bad time to make up."

I raised the eyebrow of my hologram. I did it without thinking really. Guess I've just been posing as a human for so long that expressions just come naturally. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Daniel gasped, "Don't tell me you've forgotten! Maria's coming over for dinner tonight!"

Of course! How did I forget? The old windba- erh, I mean, Maria, was coming over for dinner. Uh-oh. How was I going to work around this one? It also occurred to me why Maria was even coming over for dinner. Like the rest of the Chee, she was an android, and didn't _need _to eat. She didn't _need_ to come over for dinner. In fact, "coming up" would be more correct, considering she spends most of her time in the underground park, and would need to go up the elevator.

_You're getting a little too technical here Erek, _I told myself.

"So watcha gonna do, huh?" Daniel asked, grinning. He was probably one of the most immature Chee I had ever come across. Sometimes I wondered why we couldn't have swapped roles.

"Would it be mean if I stuffed her in the closet?" I wondered aloud. Of course, I was only joking.

"Who, Maria?"

"**ERRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" **the incredibly loud voice bellowed through the house.

"Oh, you are in _so_ much trouble," remarked Daniel, stating the obvious. I ignored him and tried to think positively of all this.

The basement door swung open and in walked Maria, cloaked in her hologram of an old women. I think I heard Daniel gulp. Maria was probably one of the most strict and scariest Chee around. I don't think there was any Chee who didn't fear her, despite knowing she wouldn't do any harm to them .

"After all the millenniums you can't even ONCE open a door for me! Laziness gets you nowhere!"

Daniel was trying his best to hide his smirk.

"Don't you smirk at me, Chee-Ludos. You are just as bad."

Maria turned around to the sound of Tedahko walking down the stairs. Tedahko stopped mid-stairs.

"Here comes trouble," Daniel whispered to me.

"Who is this?!" demanded Maria .

"Er... Maria, this is my friend from school, Tedahko. Tedahko, this is my grandmother, Maria."

Yeah, more like: "Maria, this is Tedahko, who knows about the Chee, who's been living with us, who is the last user of magic on earth and can turn into a crow. Tedahko, this is Maria, a Chee who doesn't know that you know about us, is damn strict, and a cranky old windbag most of the time."

Tedahko looked stuck for words but she finally managed to croak a nervous, "Hi."

Maria frowned, as if she had been expecting something greater. "How rude of you Erek, that you haven't even invited your little friend Tedoko -"

"Tedahko," Tedahko corrected.

"Oh, yes, right. Tedahko," Maria waved her holographic hand dismissively, "over for dinner."

I quickly gave Tedahko a glare indicating she couldn't stay here. She sent me back a confused glare in return, but must have understood because she said, "Oh, but I have to be getting home. I have heaps of homework to do."

"Oh nonsense," said Maria, "surely you can stay for a short meal."

"I'm sorry, but I really must -"

Maria gave Tedahko "The Stare." Nobody knows where she picked it up from, but it was a stare so frightful that it made even most of the other Chee quiver in fear. It was one of the reasons why rarely anybody ever said no to Maria.

Tedahko looked frozen, but I could tell she was trying desperately hard to cover up her fear.

"Um, okay," she said a little shakily, "I suppose one meal wouldn't hurt."

I put my face in my hands, but had to quickly put my face up again before Maria noticed, if she hadn't already. Some say she has eyes in the back of her head. "Excellent!" replied Maria, sounding perhaps a bit too happy.

We walked into the dining room and all sat at the table. There was dead silence.

"I'm going to... erh... check if I turned the oven on," said Daniel, and made a dash for it.

And so there were three.

"So Tedahko, tell me a little about yourself," Maria said in her friendly tone (which was rare, because Maria hardly acted friendly towards anyone,) then got a gleam in her eyes, "Dog person or a cat person?"

"Dogs?" Tedahko answered.

"And where do you know Erek from?"

"School?"

"No, no, what classes?"

"Drama?" There was Social Studies too, but Tedahko was probably too nervous to remember that.

"Looks like we're gonna go without dessert tonight, guys," Daniel called in from the kitchen, "I burnt the apple pie, and I haven't even started baking the main dish yet."

"Carelessness, Daniel!" shouted Maria, "Making your guest over here go without dessert." She gestured towards Tedahko. Why was she being so nice towards her?

"No, it's okay," Tedahko insisted, "I prefer oranges anyway."

"Tell me about it," I said, "I worked briefly as an apple farmer in the early 1600's."

"Wow, that sounds exciting," Tedahko replied, "Days after days, picking apple after apple..."

Tedahko trailed off them paused. It was then that I also picked up on the incredibly stupid mistake we had both made.

"**EREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" **Maria bellowed at the top of her voice. I heard a CLANG in the other room as Daniel dropped something.

"SHE KNOWS?!" Maria shouted.

"... Maybe," I said quietly.

"You silly Chee! It was bad enough when the Animorphs found out! Let alone this mere human girl."

Tedahko looked only slightly offended by that.

"And how did it happen? And please DON'T tell me you were hit by a bus."

"Actually, it was about a week ago when all the Chee was experiencing holographic errors," I replied, feeling somewhat relieved knowing that it wasn't my fault. That wouldn't stop Maria from blaming me, though.

"HOLOGRAPHIC ERRORS?! HOLOGRAPHIC ERRORS?!" she roared, "And you think that this makes the situation okay?"

"Uh, well no. But I assure you, the situation was completely accidental. You see-"

"I have had enough, Erek. I shall speak to you later about this!" Maria and stormed out of the room and back down into the basement.

Once Maria was gone, Tedahko said;

_"Well, she seems nice."_

**A/N: I was to tempted to screech at the top of my voice "CLIFFIE!" then. But I resisted temptation. To those who were wondering what song Anne was singing near the beginning of the story, the song was the first sentence of the Gaelic song "An****na Nic Leòid." I chose this song because of the resemblance between the names Anne and Anna. And as much as I hate to disappoint you all, but I actually have no idea what the song is about. I will try and find out, though. Also, if anybody could tell me the proper names for any of the Chee (regarding it was mentioned in the books) then please let me know so. I already knew that Maria's real name was Chee-lonos (I think. I checked in book 10.) If any real names aren't mentioned in the books, then please feel free to send in ideas! I'll be sure to credit you. Well, thats enough for now, everyone. Review please! XD Free cookies. **


	24. The Play

**A/N: BEHOLD, WE HAVE HIT A HUNDRED REVIEWS! ;D -Dances around the room- And to celebrate, this chapter ends with an awful and suspenseful cliffhanger (or cliffie, if you please.)**

**A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited or alerted. You have truly made my day, in fact, you've made my week ;D Sorry that this chapter wasn't put up earlier, I was busy being tired and unusual unmotivated. Like I am XD Bwahaha.**

**And now, we have some sad news. This is the last chapter that my awesome beta-reader, Tsaukpaetra will be able to beta-read for me. I would like to thank Tsaukpaetra for the excellent beta-reading and for putting up with my atrocious grammar and spelling. Thank you so much! ;D I will never forget your efforts.**

**Disclaimer: I'm too busy to own Animorphs because I'm busy eating nachos ;D**

**Credit:**

**Tsaukpaetra for her (or is it him? Oh crud, I've forgotten D;) last beta-read.**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name.**

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee (Not mentioned in this chapter, but I'll credit anyway ;D)" **

**Let the suspenseful cliffhanger-ended chapter begin! Yay!**

My name is Erek.

I've been yelled at my fair share of times over the many, many years I have lived. Mainly by Maria.

Maria had found out that Tedahko knew about us. And she was not happy.

"CHEE-SHANOS! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!?" She practically screamed at the top of her voice. I tried not to cover my ears, though I must say I was tempted. She only used my real name when she was really, really angry.

"You revealed to a human, a _human_, the secrets of the Chee!"

I shrugged, "The Animorphs found out about the Chee, so what's wrong with Tedahko knowing?"

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER KNOWING?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER KNOWING?!" Maria always felt the need to copy whatever I said and repeat it twice when she was angry. It could get annoying after a few thousands of years. I remained quiet and didn't bother answering her because I knew she would answer herself.

"Tell me 'Erek,' do you remember what happened when the Animorphs found out about the Chee?" she asked. Her tone was a lot calmer than before, probably meaning another outburst of anger was bound to come after.

"We made a powerful ally?" I suggested.

Maria looked at me as if I were stupid. "You can do better than that. I'm talking about when you slaughtered all those innocent creatures!"

I flinched. Hard. I hadn't expected her to bring it up.

"It wasn't the Animorphs's fault..." I replied quietly.

"No, no it was not _their _fault, Chee-Shanos. It was _your_ fault! Because no Chee has never hurt, no Chee has ever taken a life, but _you_."

The images flashed freshly through my mind. Screaming. Dying. Blood. I remembered walking through the piles of bodies, looking over what I had destroyed. How could I have done... something so cruel, so heartless? Maria was right. It was my fault. _I_ had revealed the Chee to the Animorphs. _I _have rewritten by programming. _I _had destroyed. _I _was a murderer.

I must have been crying, because Maria said, "Gain control of your hologram, Chee-Shanos. If you can't accept what you have done, do you think your little friend Tedahko will?"

She walked off and left me.

&&&

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

"Erek's been down there for a long time, are you sure he'll be okay?" I asked Mr. King.

Mr. King chuckled to himself, "Ah, don't worry. I'm sure Erek will be fine. Knowing Chee-Lonos, she'll probably just yell at him then call it a day."

I looked confused, "Chee-Lonos?"

"I guess Erek hasn't told you that part yet," Mr. King muttered as he loaded the dishwasher, "Sure, we have human names, but they aren't our real names. Maria is Chee-Lonos, I am Chee-Ludos and Erek is Chee-Shanos."

I was going to try and make some joke about how their names all rhymed but decided against it. Besides, I was tired and was planning to head off to bed soon.

Erek walked out of the basement and closed the door behind him.

"So how did it go?" Mr. King asked with what I thought was smugness, "she give you another boring lecture, eh?"

"Yeah, something like that," muttered Erek and slumped down on the sofa. Mr. King finished packing up the dishwasher and walked upstairs, probably to finish off work or to go to bed.

I looked over at Erek who was staring into space rather than watching TV. I wasn't entirely sure if it was my imagination, but it felt as if something had gone wrong. I walked over and slumped down on the couch next to Erek.

"Hey Erek, you okay?" I asked.

Erek looked zoned out for a few seconds but then replied, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." He still seemed pretty zoned out. I was tempted to ask him what Maria had said to him, though I knew it was known of my business. In the ended I found a better question to ask. One I had wondered about for a while now.

"Hey Erek?"

"Yeah?"

"How come you decided to take me in?"

Erek looked at me curiously, "What do you mean 'how come?' You were my friend. I couldn't have just left you on the streets."

"But I could have just lived with my Aunt Miranda. You were hiding an underground park in your basement for crying out loud. Didn't you think it would be hard to cover up the Chee with me living here?" I was actually pretty glad I wasn't living with my Aunt Miranda. My dad's side of the family aren't really the nicest people ever.

Erek sighed to himself.

"What?" I demanded.

"Before your parents... you know... your mom rung me. She told me and my father that she wanted us to take care of you. I never really understood what she meant, but..."

I narrowed my eyes, "I thought she didn't know about the Chee and the aliens and junk."

"Thats what we thought too," Erek replied, "but the way she said it, she sounded so sure. It was like she knew exactly what was going to happen."

I laughed, "My mom was no physic. It was probably just a coincidence."

"Yeah, maybe..." Erek muttered.

&&&

That night I had a dream I was walking along a beach. But no matter how far I walked, I never seemed to come to anything. It was the beach that went on forever. I sighed with exasperation to myself and sat down on the beach, enjoying the sensation of sand between my toes. It wasn't so bad, I guess. This was probably as relaxing as my dreams got, anyway.

Who knows how long I sat there for? It seemed like forever. Pretty soon I got bored of this dream and attempted to wake myself up. One of my friends from my old school had told me that I could do so by finding some concrete and smashing my head into it. I wasn't too fond of this idea, and just as well, there didn't appear to be any concrete around.

A thought then occurred to me. Maybe Anne could help me.

"Anne?" I asked. The only reply I got was the smashing of the waves.

"Anne?" I asked again. Nothing.

"ANNE!" I shouted. No reply. I frowned. Maybe Anne couldn't always gatecrash my dreams. The last dream of mine she was in, the colors looked so vibrant and real. The colors on this beach, however, were blotchy and messed up like they should be in any normal dream.

Having nothing better to do, I walked into the soothing ocean and felt the cold rush of water flow over my feet.

I woke up. I was greeted by the blank ceiling above me. Very rarely did I ever sleep on my back, but this was the position I found myself in. I wasn't fully awake yet, so I was still a bit drowsy. It didn't matter though, because the cool rush of the water on my feet was helping to wake me up. My senses kicked in. WHAT?!

I carefully tilted my head to my right and saw my foot hanging over the side of the bed, and a very happy looking a dog licking my foot.

"AH!" I yelped with surprise and swung my foot up onto the bed. I sat up and stared at the dog. It began chasing its tail.

"How did it get in here?" I wondered aloud. It had probably just escaped from the underground park. Nothing for me to worry about. The dog continued to chase his tail. I stretched and exited my room. The dog happily ran out, nearly tripping me up in the process. I wondered to myself how such a creature could be so evilly happy.

I walked down the stairs into the living room. The lights were all turned out and it didn't appear that anyone else was up yet. I opened up the pantry. Damn, out of Wheaties. The Cheerios box just sits there, mocking me as if to say "Haha, no Wheaties! Now you'll have to eat evil little corn Cheerios!"

I shuddered and took the box. Advertising is one of the many things in life I have trouble understanding. Why would they call Cheerios that? It should be more like... uh... Griefios!

So anyway, I sat down at the table and began eating my Cheerios when Mr. King walked down the stairs.

"Good morning Mr. King," I said.

"Good morning," he replied, "excited about the play?"

I started choking on a piece of corn Cheerio, my face red until I finally swallowed it. This only amused Mr. King, as indicated by the huge grin on the face of his holograph.

"Okay, well I should be off so I'm not late for work. But don't worry, I'll be in the audience." Mr. King left for work. Okay so I admit I had sort of forgotten that the play was today. _Today!_ I stared down glumly at my bowl of Cheerios. I filled my mouth up with a new spoonful when...

"Mornin' Teh."

I began coughing on another Cheerio. Erek looked at me quizzically.

I finally swallowed it and said, "This is exactly why I can't eat Cheerios."

Erek laughed, "Oh, right. I forgot."

"Forget? I didn't even tell you!" I pointed out.

"I'm an android. I know everything."

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly, "Surely you can't know _everything._"

"Ask me a question."

I thought for a moment. "What's the world's smallest country?"

"Vatican City."

I frowned, "I thought it was Swaziland."

"Nope," he said, grinning.

"Well... erh... surely you still don't know _everything,_" I replied, finding it hard to come up with any good comebacks.

"You just go on thinking that."

&&&

The walk to the community center was long and awkward. Erek and I were both pretty much quiet for the whole walk. In fact, it was _too_ quiet. I then noticed than Anne hadn't said a word to me all day. Unusual. By now I would have thought she would be lecturing me about how you don't know what you have until its gone and other corny sayings, but no, nothing.

I approached the community hall only to be met by Spencer. I sighed. He was holding yet _another _bouquet of flowers. Yesterday Spencer had approached me in the 7 Eleven with a big bouquet of flowers and started apologizing his heart out . Somehow, I decided to forgive him, but denied the bouquet of flowers. I was too worried with what I was seeing behind Spencer. Erek's hologram had dropped for a few seconds. I tried mouthing it to him, but he didn't seem to understand. I half-expected Anne to drop in a comment there about how I was more concerned for Erek than I was for Spencer, but she never did. Where was she?

"Hey Teh!" Spencer called out as he walked over to me with his huge bouquet of flowers.

I thought I saw Erek roll his eyes.

"These are for you," he said, as he handed me the bouquet of flowers. I accepted them, I mean, how could I not? I didn't want to seem impolite or anything.

"Thanks," I said quietly.

_Anne, would you like to throw in a comment?_ I asked.

Silence. You know, as much as I hate to say it, I was starting to miss Anne's comments.

"Break a leg out there," Spencer said happily, "Now if you excuse me, I have to find a good seat before there all taken." Spencer left, and after he had left, I had realized Erek had wandered off somewhere. Did he really hate Spencer that much?

&&&

"Tedahko and Erek sitting in a -"

"Marco, would you shut up!" I shouted angrily for the fifth time. I had sort of forgotten that Marco was to be stage manager. Guess I didn't really see it of any importance at the time. Little did I know the grief he would cause me.

Marco pretended to look hurt, "Oh, you wound me."

"Shut up," I said angrily for the sixth time.

"Or you'll what?" he asked smugly.

I did a quick scope of the makeup room. Empty, besides me and Marco. The only reason Marco was in here was to get props. And to annoy me.

"Have you forgotten?" I asked.

Marco was silent for a few seconds then said, "Yep, I've forgotten."

I glared daggers into him.

"Oh, oh! That's right. You're telekivetic."

"Telekinetic," I corrected.

Marco shrugged, "And weren't you the one that thought Ax was a telepathic centaur?"

"And your point is...?"

Marco sighed, "Whatever." However, he then re-attained his mocking grin and continued to start on our previous argument, "So what are you and Erek gonna do, eh? Kiss and make up?!" Marco thought this was absolutely hilarious and burst into tears and laughter over his own joke. I sighed in defeat. Once Marco was done laughing hysterically at his own joke, I asked, "Can I send you flying through the roof now?"

Marco burst out laughing all over again just for the sake of annoying the crap out of me. I could handle him laughing at me once, but twice was _not _going to happen.

Gently, I used Telekinetic magic to make Marco float in mid air. When he finally noticed his feet were no longer touching the ground, he stopped laughing and stared at me blankly.

"Here's the choice, Marco," I said, "A, you stop laughing, get the props and get out or B, I'll send you flying up."

Marco looked at me with puzzlement, "But there's no skylight."

"Exactly my point."

"Choice A."

"Wise. For once."

I placed Marco on his feet again and continued applying mascara. Marco quickly gathered all the props he would be needing, but before he left he said quickly "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" and made a jolt for it and slammed the door shut behind him.

I sighed. How was I going to get through this?

&&&

I had long finished apply my mascara and was now rehearsing the lines over in my head. Personally, I wasn't quite sure if I would remember everything and even so, I tend to forget things when I become very, very nervous. Not that I was nervous about anything in _particular_. Totally not nervous.

The door opened a bit and Marco nervously poked his head through. He was probably thinking I was going to make his face collide with the wall, and decided to keep his distance.

"Hey Juliet, the play goes on in five minutes. Just thought I, the handsome and charming stage manager, would let you know."

"Handsome and charming?"

Marco tucked his head back in and shut the door.

Well, may as well get this over and done with...

_Anne, willing to offer me any moral support here?_

No reply.

I rolled my eyes, "Great. Just great. I am talking to myself. You're on the verge of insanity, Tedahko. The verge of insanity..."

&&&

I'll spare you most of the boring details of the beginning of the play. Basically, I was damn nervous and seeing Spencer wave to me from the audience didn't make it any better. When I wasn't in a particular scene, it gave me time to think though; about what an awful situation I was in. Spencer, who was supposedly my "boyfriend" was waving to me from the crowd as I played Juliet in a play when my best friend, Erek, who isn't even human may I add, is playing Romeo. Complicated? A little. Awkward? You bet. Somehow I managed to forget my lines three times, which didn't contribute to my mood much either. I had come to two very solid conclusions after thinking this through. One, life sucks. Two, if there is a god, he must hate me.

Well and truly hate me.

So anyway, we were near the end of the play now. Near... _The Scene._

How did I even get into this stupid play to begin with? I certainly didn't remember auditioning. Then I remembered. Miss Cruz. It was all _her _fault. _Why_ did she choose me? _Why_ was I thrust into the worst case scenario? No... I'm not at the worst case scenario yet. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how selfish I was being. Of course, I wasn't living in the worst case scenario, the Animorphs were. They were fighting a war against an alien invasion while being severely outnumbered and I was... what? Worried about kissing my best friend in a school play? I had it off easy. I should be grateful. But I still wasn't, because I still wasn't entirely sure if I could do this.

It just felt... morally wrong, I suppose. But then again, Erek was my best friend. I shouldn't be nervous. It was just a play.

_Just a play, just a play, just a play,_ I reassured myself. When I say it over and over, it helps me remember. It didn't make me feel better, though.

Oh gosh. The scene... after this guy had finished his part of the script, it was my turn. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. I started feeling lightheaded all of a sudden. As in pass out lightheaded. But it didn't matter. I embraced the feeling. It didn't matter where I was and what people would think of me, I could deal with that when I woke up.

What am I talking about?!

I didn't know really know myself. All I wanted to do was to go asleep. Asleep... asleep... heh. What a funny word. I then came to my senses and pulled myself out of my lightheaded delirious state.

I then realized it was my turn to speak. Breathing deeply, I was about to speak when...

_Don't choke!_

&&&

My name is Marco.

Some things in life are just plain funny. Earth being invaded by parasitic alien slugs is not. But still, some things are hilarious. That's sort of my job, to see the funny side of things, to annoy Rachel with my completely awesome jokes, to make fun of bird-boy when he eats a mouse, to tell Jake he is _waaay _to serious and that he should lighten up, and let me sneak into the Battle Of The Bands next week. Heck, we had done it once before. Of course, last time we had "mis-used" our morphing power to sneak into a concert we ended up uncovering one of the greatest secrets of human history.

But I'm straying too far from the subject here...

So anyway, I was busy doing stage managing. I had failed drama about a month ago, so I needed extra credit. As I found out however, there were some really, really rewarding things about pulling the curtains and moving the props. Watching the play was one of those. You're probably thinking "watching a play? Boring!" This was no ordinary play though. It was plain hilarious.

The reason that it was "plain hilarious" is because our very old android ally and the resident witch were in it. And come on, it was _soooo_ obviously that Tedahko had a crush on Erek, despite having boyfriend. Yep, this was the stuff soap operas are made of.

Tedahko was just about to say the few lines before her and her "best friend" were meant to kiss, but she looked very nervous. I grinned with satisfaction from my spot at the side of the stage. It served her right for threatening to send me flying through the roof. The image of Tedahko stuffing up big time swept through my mind, and made me chuckle to myself. Tedahko looked down very nervously at Erek, who was lying on the floor and pretending to be dead according to the circumstances of the play.

"Go, get the hence, for I will not away. -

What's here? A cup closed in my true love's hand?"

I chuckled immaturely to myself after she said the words "true love's."

"Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end -

O churl! Drink all; and leave no friendly drop,

To help me after? - I will kiss thy lips;

Haply, some poison yet doth hang on them,

To make me die with restorative."

You have to give the girl credit, she didn't even stuff up once when saying those lines, and didn't crack smile at the incredibly corny script. Maybe she was too nervous to smile.

Tedahko looked over Erek. She knew very well what part in the script came next. She froze up. I continued laughing to myself, may I say, insanely while she just stood there. Eventually she came to her senses.

She leaned down, hesitated, and then gently kissed him on the lips.

And when she stopped and pulled away, her face was a cross in between complete embarrassment and the face Ax makes when he discovers some new, mind-blowing food. I fell to the floor, laughing so hard I could barely breathe. In fact, I laughed like this for the rest of the play, so I didn't really see anything more. It then occurred to me who would be doing stage managing for me while I was in the middle of a laughing fit. Didn't really bother me though. They'd find someone.

Some things in life are just plain funny.

And this is definitely one of them.

&&&

After the play, and after I had been scolded by one of the teachers for slacking off, I went on continuing my job of stage manager by putting away some of these props in the make-up room. I wasn't intending on over hearing anybody, but that was exactly what happened.

The door was left slightly opened, just enough gap for me to see through. As far saw it, it was _their _fault for deciding to have a conversation right outside the makeup room. It wouldn't necessarily be wrong if I eavesdropped. Cautiously, I slid into an angle where I could see whoever where talking through the small space that the unclosed door left me to see through.

"Wow! You did great Erek! You're a really good actor!"

A conversation in between Erek and Spencer. This was going to be good...

"Uh, thanks," said Erek, who didn't really seem happy to be there. If somebody was complimenting me like that, I would be grateful. But I guess it was still a bit weird that Tedahko's boyfriend would be sucking up to Tedahko's best friend. You'd think that this Spencer kid would hate Erek.

A scenario ran through my head of Britney with one of the knuckle-headed jocks in my grade after the school play and myself in Spenser's place. And _boy,_ I would not be happy. It was almost unnatural for Spencer to feel so friendly towards Erek.

Spencer smiled a perfect smile of white teeth, "you're welcome!"

He then stepped a step closer to Erek, so his mouth was right next to his ear. To be honest, I half expected him to kiss Erek. The thought made me grin stupidly. But I could never have been so wrong. And though I was in a separate room, I could still here those spine-chilling words he whispered.

"_But I'm still going to be watching you, android."_

_**A/N: Say it with me, CL-CL-CLIFFIE! ;D Yes, I could not end this chapter without a cliffhanger. It just seemed to fit perfectly. I can not resist being so cruel. Suspense makes it all the sweeter. Now, as much as I hate to say this, I need a few plot ideas. I have the main plot worked out, but I need ones to fill the gaps. If there is something you would like to see in the story, please let me know! I am also considering adding a new character soon. But who this is going to be, I'll never tell XD Please review! Free cupcakes cos I'm out of cookies.**_


	25. Operation Infiltration

**Hello everyone! ;D Sorry I haven't updated for a while. I have three things to blame for this. 1. School, the holidays are now over in Australia. 2. Youtube. I've been watching too much anime and anime gets me out of a writing mood. 3. General writer's block.**

**Let's all shout "ZOMG YAY!" because you won't have to put up with my horrible horrible grammar and spelling in this chapter. Mimi-dudette has agreed to beta-read for me ;D Yay! So everyone give her a cookie. XD**

**I was watching the news the other day, and there was an article about all the bush fires in Victoria (a state in Australia.) There was this head of fire-fighting brigade, or something like that, and his name was David Esplin. LOL. I Immediately thought VISSER THREE!? The fact is, he did look a little like Eugene Lipinski (the dude who play V3 in the Animorphs TV show.) How about that, eh? Just thought I'd share ;D**

**Disclaimer: I _did _own Animorphs, but the ducks came and stole it.**

**Credit:**

**Mimi-dudette for beta-reading ;D**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name.**

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee." **

**Note: Story now rated "T." I don't feel I could get away with a K plus, especially with what is going to happen later in the story.**

**Warning: Contains one small drug reference kiddies. Nothing too serious though XD  
**

**Chapter 25 – Operation Infiltration (Don't you just love the name?)  
**

My name is Marco.

Like I have mentioned previously, I'm normally the one who sees the funny things in life. Little did I know that what I was about to hear would be a start of a whole lot of trouble for us Animorphs. And when I say a whole lot, I mean a whole lot.

"But I'm still going to be watching you, android."

Spencer walked onward, bumping shoulders with Erek as he moved. Erek just stood there, as if trying to absorb what had just happened. Once I was entirely sure Spencer was gone, I opened the door. If Erek had noticed, he didn't act like it.

"Uh Erek," I said, "I think we may have trouble."

"I've noticed..." he muttered.

&&&

"So why are we here again?" Rachel asked impatiently.

It was a few hours later and we were all gathered in Cassie's barn for our regular death-wish meeting. Cassie, who was busy attending to the broken wing of a goose, Jake, who was pacing back and forth, wearing that "serious leader" face he always does, Tobias, who was sitting in his usual place in the rafters, Ax, who was standing off to the side of the room near the stalls, Rachel, who was asking impatient questions and I, the fabulous Marco. I was sitting on a bale of hay.

"Well, we should probably wait until Erek arrives until I get into any of the details," Jake said.

"You don't even know, do you?" Rachel asked.

"Nope. Marco called this meeting, not me."

"Well Marco?" Rachel demanded, "What is so important that I had to cancel my manicure?"

I was about to speak, but Tobias beat me to it.(He's approaching the barn door now,) Tobias said from the rafters, (3, 2, 1...)

At that very moment, the barn door opened and Erek walked in. You should never underestimate the sight of a hawk. According to Tobias, he could see a mouse from a mile away.

"Hi guys," Erek said as he walked in. It was kind of funny, despite the situation he managed to say those words with unnatural calm. Casually, even.

"Hey Erek, what's up?" Jake asked. Erek shut the door behind him and walked up to Jake.

"Well," he said, "the secret of Chee may be in danger, but besides that; it's all good."

Cassie let out a gasp, "What happened?"

"You know Tedahko's little boyfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah. What's his name...?" Jake began, "I keep on forgetting his name. It begins with "S", doesn't it?"

"Spencer," Cassie confirmed, "I think that's it."

"Oh yeah," Rachel said, "I know him. He's in my mathematics class."

"Yeah, well, he somehow found out that I'm an android," Erek said.

There was a long and unnerving silence in the barn. Even all the animals remained quiet. These silences seemed to always come just after something bad happens.

(I do not believe this is a good situation,) Ax said, stating the obvious like he so often does.

"Oh nah, you think?"

(Yes Marco, I do think. We Andalites are very good at thinking.)

I rolled my eyes, "It's an expression, Ax."

"Will you two be quiet!?" Rachel snapped, "The identity of the Chee, not to mention us, is at stake and you two are talking about _thinking_!"

"Rachel has a point, sort of." Jake said, "We need to figure out how we're going to deal with this."

"There's more," Erek continued, "We think Spencer may be..."

"An NSA agent," I finished off.

Again with the unnerving silence.

"An...NSA agent?" Cassie asked, perplexed. "Doesn't he seem a bit...young?"

"He mightn't be," Rachel said. Everyone looked at Rachel and she let out a sigh which, may I add, was very unlike her.

"The other day, Tedahko and I wagged class."

(Ah yes,) said Ax, (I remember. You said you were going to bring along Prince Jake, as I required assistance. But instead you brought along,) I swore I saw his eyes narrow, (the Nishkak.)

"Yeah, thanks for interrupting," Rachel said, "Like I was saying, we wagged class. When we arrived where Ax was, there was a guy there who was claiming to be an NSA agent. He was wearing a mask, so we couldn't see his face but he sounded young. Young as in..."

"Spencer's age," Jake finished off. "Okay, anything else?"

"Yeah. The kid left a notebook with what appeared to be goals in them. They were... unusual. Things like "investigate psychotic break downs in area" and "invest sightings of animals roaming unusual habitats.""

(I wonder who that could be,) Tobias said thoughtfully.

"The last one," Rachel continued, "is what was really disturbing. It said, "Keep a close eye on Erek King."

Erek frowned, or at least his holograph did, "And nobody told me this... why?"

Rachel shrugged, "I thought Tedahko would tell you. Besides, I think in the end we just dismissed it as a minor incident, so we just forgot about it."

"Yup," I said, "stopping rampaging NSA agents. All in a days work for the Animorphs."

Jake snapped out of listening mode and into his "serious leader" mode once more. "Has anyone else got anything to add?" he asked.

(I do,) Tobias said, (the other day…I was sitting in a tree near the school-)

I shot a Rachel a mischievous grin, "Why bird-boy? Where you waiting for someone?"

Tobias ignored me. (This woman could have possibly have been one of these NSA agents. She was talking on the phone to someone, saying how the person on the other end of the phone was right, and that Erek wasn't human.)

"Hmm," Jake said thoughtfully, "Well, this isn't good."

"No." agreed Erek, "It certainly isn't."

Jake clapped his hands together, "Okay here's what we'll do..."

"Oh! Oh!" I put my hand up, as if I was a very impatient student in class, who knew an answer to a question."

"Yes Marco?"

"Whatever insane and suicidal death mission we go on, can we call it Operation Infiltration?"Jake raised an eyebrow, "...Why?"

"Because it sounds cool," I replied, as though it was obvious.

Rachel made a "pttf" noise. "Operation Infiltration is a stupid name. The last thing we need is for you to go around naming our missions."

"It isn't stupid!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!""Is not!"

"Now Marco," Rachel said a lot more calmly, "Who's right?" Her question confused me. She was chanting "is too!" just a moment ago and was so sure of her opinion. So why was she even bothering to hear my opinion once more?"Uh, I think that's obvious, Xena," I said, "I'm right."

Rachel threw a punch, which the destination of was my nose.

"Ouch!" I yelped, "Tobias, your girlfriend punched me in the face!" If Tobias wasn't a hawk, he probably would have blushed. But instead, he began to preen his feathers.

"Now tell me again Marco," Rachel said patiently, "who is right?"

"You are..." I muttered.

(Humans are very weird creatures,) commented Ax randomly.

"You're telling me," said Erek.

"Excuse me?" I questioned, "You're calling _us_ weird? You're a frickin' android!"

"Yes, I am an android. An android that lives like a normal, everyday human. You, on the other hand," he gestured to me, "can turn into animals, and have the ability to tell incredibly awful jokes which the level of fun of listening to is that equivalent to landing in a bush of poison ivy."

Silence.

Everyone burst out laughing.

"Hey!" I protested, "That wasn't even funny!"

"Erh... no. Of course not," Jake said, trying to hide the obvious smirk on his face.

&&&

Once everyone had stopped laughing at Erek's awful "joke," we figured out what we were going to do.

We decided that three of us, (Jake, Ax and myself,) would sneak into Spencer's house and recover suspicious documents that might link him to the NSA or anything of that nature. We needed Ax, because if this information was stored on a computer then we needed him to crack it. The others (Rachel, Tobias and Cassie,) would wait outside in case we needed backup. And when was this excellent plan going to take place, you ask?

Midnight.

After the meeting, I went home to sleep and watch some TV. There was just one thing I forgot about.

"Grrrrraghfth! Yip yip!" snarled Euclid, the evil poodle. The second I walked through the door, she pounced at my feet, trying to tare my shoes to pieces.

"Euclid!" scolded Nora, who walked out of the kitchen, "Down girl!"

Euclid snarled again and trotted off, giving me a cold, hard stare.

Nora smiled, "I think Euclid likes you."

"Yeah... bet she does..." I muttered. That damn poodle.

"Your father is still at work," Nora said, "so how was your day?"

I shrugged, "It was alright."After greeting Nora, I then proceeded to my room where I planned to play my PlayStation. Realizing that my PlayStation wasn't there (I had forgotten that my dad had taken it away because I had gotten a D in my little extra credit project of doing the play because I slacked off) I lay down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling.

_May as well get to sleep early, since I have to get back up before midnight anyway, _I thought to myself.

Then, just my luck, the doorbell rang the moment I closed my eyes. I swore under my breath and stuffed my pillow over my head.

"Marco! One of your little friends is here!" Nora called.

I was secretly hoping to myself that it was Jake, so he could tell me that we weren't going through with this suicidal mission anymore. However, this was not what happened. I opened the door to my room and peered down the hallway.

"Hey Marco, what's up?" said Erek, who was standing at the end of the hallway. He walked casually into my room, Euclid the evil poodle following him. Erek gave Euclid a scratch behind the ear and I swear that stupid poodle actually looked happy.

"How do you do that?" I asked, "I try and pat her and she tries to chomp off my hand."

"Some are just gifted," he said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes good-natured, "Sure, man. Whatever you say."

My mood then fell into the pits. A visit from Erek wasn't often a good thing. It normally meant that he wanted us to go on a suicidal mission or he wanted to tell us something dangerous about the mission we were about to attempt that he had forgotten before.

"So..." I prompted, waiting for Erek to bring up whatever reason he was here. He flashed something green in his hand. Ten bucks.

"Sorry Erek, I don't sell drugs," I joked, trying to get the image of androids smoking drugs out of my mind.

Erek rolled his eyes, "Oh, haha Marco." The look on the holographic face then turned serious, "Ten bucks if you break something tonight."

It took me a moment to catch on to what he meant, "But wouldn't that be wrong?" I then grinned stupidly to myself, "Gee, you _must _really hate him."

Erek looked exasperated, "Think what you like Marco. Are you going to do it or not?"

I shrugged, "Well, as you know, I'm not the sort of dude who ignores the opportunity to get ten bucks. But what if this Spencer guy isn't even gui-"

"Twenty?"

I grinned, "Well, maybe I _might _able to range for a vase to _accidentally _get knocked over."

Erek returned the same grin. "Deal."

&&&

That night when everyone in my household was asleep (including the psycho poodle, Euclid) I morphed to osprey and flew out of the house. Spencer's house was quite close, actually. Only about a ten minute flight.

I met up with the others in Spencer's neighbor's backyard. The yard looked like it needed quiet a bit of maintenance and the house was falling part, indicating that nobody was living there, which probably made this a safer place to morph than Spencer's backyard.

"Okay, lets morph," Jake whispered once I had finished whining about how insane this whole plan was.

"Um... what are we morphing?" I whispered back.

"Maybe if you weren't late then you would know," Rachel whispered angrily.

"We're going roach," Jake said.

"Oh man, why?"

"Because, according to Tobias, the space underneath the door is big enough for roaches to fit through. Besides, at least we would be in a strong and hardy insect morph. We could do flies if you want."

I shuddered at the thought of doing flies. "Roaches it is."

Jake was right about roaches though. You could drop them from a second story building and they wouldn't care at all.

It was then that Jake, Ax and I morphed to cockroach. Like usual, we avoided looking at each other. Morphing isn't the prettiest process to watch. Tobias then scooped us up in his talons, and dropped us at Spencer's front doorstep. You know, just in case we happened to get eaten [or] attacked in between the distance of the neighbor's back yard to Spencer's doorstep. You would be surprised how far it looked from a roach's point of view. Besides, the grass was long and unkempt so there was no telling what could be lurking in it.

One by one, three roaches crept under the door and into the unknown. I half expected my roach brain to go off at some distant sense of food. Roaches aren't particularly hard to control, but they still often crave garbage. But the first thing I noticed when I crept under that door was how clean the floor was. In fact, the whole room was drenched in this clean, dirt-less smell. My puny cockroach brain had nothing to go off at.

(Wow, _somebody's_ a clean-freak.) I commented.

(Yeah,) Jake agreed, (This whole place smells clean. It actually sort of reminds me of Erek's place.)

We continued crawling along in the pitch-black of the night. All was silent. Until we heard arguing coming from behind a nearby door. We all crept close enough to hear it. It was normally quite hard to interpret what people where saying while we were in morph. But we had quite a bit of experience.

"You fool!" a voice yelled, presumably female. "How could you have done something so stupid?!"

(Isn't it way past their bedtimes?) I said, mainly to myself.

(Yeah, I would have thought so too.)

"Lay off it, Alicia. I did what I had to do," said a very familiar voice. Spencer's voice.

"Don't "Alicia" me. Address me as June, otherwise Myers will be hearing about this."

"Whatever. I just can't see what the deal is here. The android was going to find out we knew about it sooner of later anyway."

"That isn't the point, Brown. We could have gone for a silent and easier capture of the android and it could have possibly revealed more clues about all the weird happenings in the area."

"You don't understand. I said that because I thought it might stay away from my girlfriend. If it hurts her..."

"Don't speak such bull. You may be a prodigy, Spencer, but you don't fool me. I know there was another reason why you're even together with that girl, and I myself have to question if is morally right. But we aren't here for morals, are we?"

(I do not understand the context of the word "bull,") said Ax, (Up until now, I believed this was an earth animal. How could one "speak a bull?")

(I'll explain it later, Ax,) I said. Of course, that was a lie.

"Yeah, there are some perks to it. The fact that she is best friends with that...that..._thing_, and probably doesn't even know it is one of them. I admit; I liked her a lot in the beginning. But I don't feel that way about her anymore. The only reason I'm still with her is to find out more about the android. But I still care about her, at least as a friend. So don't go putting the hard word on me."

"But you are still using her. Even if it is for the good of the mission."

"Yeah, so? You know what, sometimes I even think that -" Spencer stopped himself mid sentence.

"You think that...what, Brown?"

"Sometimes I think that I'm not the only one pretending."

"Oh yeah, and how would she be pretending?" the female voice asked skeptically.

"I-I don't know. But sometimes I think she doesn't even like me as a boyfriend. The look on her face when she kissed that thing in the school play, it still hurts. Even though I don't feel that way about her it still did. Because it sickens me how she is oblivious to who and what Erek really is. The look on her face... it looked like she actually liked it."

"Human and android? The thought is absurd. You have too much of an imagination." replied the female voice, "In fact, I've had enough of your absurd ramblings for tonight, Brown. As your superior in rank, I order you to go to bed."

"Whatever. I don't care what you have to say. But I'm going to bring this android down, with or without your help."

The door swung open and a figure stepped through which was supposedly Spencer. Three cockroaches scrambled to the side.

(Well,) I said, (that was certainly interesting.)

(Yeah, I'd say. Okay, now let's find the computer room,) said Jake.

All the lights in the house where out by now. It took us about five minutes to finally find the computer room and another five minutes to demorph. Once demorphed, I happened to spot a Walkman that somebody had left carelessly sitting on the desk. A Walkman with the name "Spencer" on it. There was also a heavy paperweight sitting on a stack of papers within an arm's reach. Nobody was watching. Ax was too busy trying to hack through the computers security. I believe his exact words where:

(This primitive human device has a lot more security that I expected. But it is certainly not a challenge.)

Jake was busy watching Ax, probably not understand an action he was doing, and rubbing his temples from exhaustion.

Quickly, I grabbed the heavy paperweight and smashed it into the Walkman. Unfortunately, this made a "CRACK!" noise and attracted Jake's attention.

He looked blankly at the Walkman.

"Accident!" I whispered urgently.

Jake just sighed, as if he was too tired to care, and turned his attention back to the computer screen. Jake soon got bored of this, however, and sat on the floor. Sometimes I honestly wonder how he does it. He has to make life-and-death decisions for us weekly, yet he is still in one piece. Though I would never say anything about this to anyone, but I am _so _glad that isn't me.

All of a sudden, Ax paused. (Prince Jake, Marco, I believe you may want to see this.)

"Don't call me prince," whispered Jake and stood up to look at the screen. He also paused.

"What is it?" I whispered. I walked over to look at the screen.

"Spencer has an aunt and an NSA spy agent uncle that live in this town and a missing cousin? So what?"

"Marco," Jake said deadpan, "Look at the bottom."

I froze, "Oh man. You have got to be joking."

"I know," Jake whispered back.

"I always knew that kid reminded me of someone."

"How come we didn't notice this before? They have the exact same last name," Jake whispered.

"Brown is a pretty common last name. But still...Oh crap. This is so not good."

&&&

_Tedahko's P.O.V_

It was after the play and I decided to take a walk along a real beach, instead of the imaginary beach in my dreams.

_Admit it Tedahko, you like him._ Yes, the annoying burden of a subconscious was back. Unfortunately.

"Anne, do you know how annoying you are?"

_Oh, come on now. How could I possibly be annoying?_

"Oh, well, maybe because you shouted "DON'T CHOKE!" before I was about to start on a very important line in the play."

_Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, did you enjoy kissing Erek?_

I tried everything I could to slap her, though since she was in my head this technically wouldn't be possible in the first place.

"Where were you anyway?" I asked, "Where you waiting all that time just to yell "Don't choke!" and make me screw up, or where you actually doing something worthwhile with your life?"

_Just for the record, _she said, _I was busy arguing with the Ellimist about my rights. The guy doesn't give me enough credit for dealing with you._

I made an arrogant "pttf" sound and was just about to make a smart comeback when I spotted something glittering from a spot in the sand. Curiously, I walked over to it and dusted the small object off with sand. Once I had dusted all the sand off, it revealed a small, sparkling crystal, no bigger than a grape. A very beautiful crystal.

_Wow, good find,_ commented Anne.

Yeah, it was.

Maybe I would go and put it on a necklace or something.

**A/n: Damnit, no cliffie. Oh well. Now, there is a few stuff in this chapter you have to "interept." Example, it doesn't say_ who_ Spencer's cousin is. But there are a few clues there. Also, if you regard the description of Spencer in earlier chapters saying he had "blond" hair, that also gives you a clue. I think everyone figured out what the crystal Tedahko found was. If you don't, go back and read book ten ;D Hopefully you're all good at this "interepting" stuff. Yay! So... uh... yeah. I'll get started on the next chapter soon! Another thanks to Mimi-dudette for beta-reading. FREE ICECREAM FOR ANYONE WHO REVIEWS! XD**


	26. Nostalgia

**A/N: YO! I am typing this author's note under sleep-deprived-ness. So excuse any unnecessary rambling.**

**Well, first of all, a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed. I love reading all your reviews and comments ;D I think I managed to reply to everyone, but it I didn't, please let me know so. Just simply PM me and say "YOU DIDN'T REPLY TO ME!!! D;" or something along that lines. Please keep in mind though, that my PM-ing system has been behaving strangely lately. Some PM-s I send don't even go through -Sigh-**

**This chapter is rather short (and plot-less, for that matter,) compared to the other chapters. Its what I call a "necessary filler chapter." It is needed in order for things to make sense in the later chapters, but the fun of reading this chapter is...well...not at fun as the other ones. This one does, however, end with a cliffie. Maybe not a killer cliffie, but a cliffie. But hey, its better than nothing. Right?**

**Disclaimer (SPECIAL EDITION! IN HORK-BAJIR-ENGLISH!): Me no own Animorph. Me eat tree. KA Applegate own Animorph. Hork-Bajir eat apple. Apple good.**

**... Okay, that "failed," as my friend would say. And yes, I know Hork-Bajirs don't eat apples.**

**...**

**Or do they?**

**Credit:**

**Mimi-dudette for an awesome job beta-reading. Toss her a cupcake, everyone! XD**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name.**

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee."** **  
**

**CARAMELLDANSEN! ... Okay, I'll be quiet now. Seriously though, somebody should make an Animorphs Caramelldansen. If you have no idea what the Caramelldansen is, just disregard what I am talking about.**

My name is Tedahko.

After my walk on the beach, I headed back to Erek's house, along with crystal I had found half-buried in the sand. When I arrived, I accidentally walked in on Maria and Daniel arguing over something. I turned to go back out the front door, hoping they hadn't noticed.

"Ah, Tedahko. We were just talking about you," said Maria, surprisingly calmly. Daniel mouthed something to me which looked an awful lot like "Run."

"Y-you were?" I asked shakily. Although I had not been scared at her at first, I could recall how rattled Erek had seemed after a conversation with Maria in the underground park. Though I wasn't entirely sure what the conversation was about, I was pretty sure Maria didn't go easy on Erek.

"Yes," replied Maria. She turned to Daniel, "Shoo."Daniel frowned but all the same, left the room.

My mind crazily rushed around in circles, trying to think up a good excuse. After about ten seconds of just standing there with my mouth hanging open, Maria remarked, "What are you trying to do? Catch flies?"

I quickly closed my mouth, only to blurt out my excuse a few seconds later. "I was just....erh...you see, I think I might have accidentally left my schoolbag here, and..."

"Do you think I am stupid, girl?" Maria asked, her face suddenly turning into an angry frown, "Let me tell you, if there is one thing in life I really hate, it is a liar."

"Y-you know?" I questioned in disbelief.

Oh no. My mind flashed back to when Maria had yelled at Erek the other day as we were eating dinner. Was she...was she going to yell at me? My face felt stiff, as I had no idea whether I should be frowning or smiling or crying. I prepared for the worse.

"Yes. That fool Chee-Ludos told me."

"So you know that I'm..."

"Living here? Good grief, could I spell it out for you any clearer?!" Maria snapped angrily.

And here it was going to come. A yelling spree. I bit my top lip nervously.

"I need to talk to you regarding this matter. If you would come with me please..."

Well, I wasn't expecting that. I followed Maria into the living room. Did I feel...relived? To be completely honest, I wasn't sure. This situation could turn real bad, real quick.

_Should I feel nervous?_ I thought to myself.

_I'll give you an expert's opinion if you admit that you _like _like Erek, _suggested Anne, unhelpfully.

_Anne, mind your own business. That thought wasn't even directed at you._

_Oh well, such is life. _

Once we were in the living room, Maria gave me a hard stare. Horrified, I stepped back a few steps.

"First of all," she began, "I would like you to know what situation you have gotten yourself into."

I frowned, "Myself?"

"Actually," Maria said, "It was probably more that idiot Chee-Shanos's fault. And also Chee-Ludos's, for allowing Chee-Shanos to do what he did."

"I-I'm actually grateful for what they did. If Erek didn't take me in then where would I be now?"

"How am I supposed to know?" she demanded, "The fact is, he did something that the Chee do not allow. Never do the Chee interfere with the affairs of humans. It was bad enough when Erek was hit by a bus and the Animorphs found about us."

"But he still did the right thing, didn't he?" I asked. It then occurred to me that Maria might not have known about the situation. She might have no idea that my parents are dead, and that I had no-one who would have taken me in. Especially not my family on my dad's side.

Maria sighed, "I suppose it depends on one's point of view. However, this is not the first time Erek has broken the rules. Nor the first way."

I narrowed my eyes, "What do you mean?"

Maria made a bitter, ruined smile. Or at least her holograph did. "Erek is..._different _from the other Chee. He has done something that should have been forbidden. Something that no Chee should have ever have done."

I really didn't think much of that sentence at the time. It just sounded like Maria yapping on about Erek breaking more rules. However bad this "Something" was, surely it wasn't that bad. Maria was probably just exaggerating. Was she?

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Maria gave me an angry glare. "So...what? Are you going to throw me out or something?"

Maria shook her head, "It is too late for that now. You know too much. If you were to be infested by a Yeerk... well, I'm sure you can guess what will happen."

I nodded.

"So I guess – for now, you shall remain living here."I had gone into this conversation fearing the worse. But everything had turned out rather well. In fact, I would even say that luck was on my side.

_Pttf, _said Anne, _That's only because you have me as your subconscious. Haven't you heard of Irish Luck?_

I ignored her.

"Well?" Maria questioned angrily, "Do I get a thank you? No? _Fine_!" She turned on her heel and started walking towards the living room door before I even had a chance to reply.

"Thank you!"

"It's a bit too late now," she replied and then paused. "Oh, and Tedahko? Tell Erek I said 'hi'." And with that, she walked out.

_Well,_ I thought to myself, _that wasn't too bad._

_Yeah, _agreed Anne, _she could have known that you kissed Erek in the school play. Now that would be awkward._

_Anne?_

_Yes?_

_Shut up._

&&&

_(Erek's P.O.V)_

When my meeting with the Animorphs had finished, I returned home. I was greeted by a very nervous Daniel, who immediately offered to do my homework for a whole month. This worried me, as Daniel normally did this for a particular reason.

"Okay "Dad," what stuff of mine have you broken _this _time?" I asked. Daniel seemed to be bad luck around the belongings of others. Last time this happened, he had broken my new PlayStation by accidentally stepping on it. Fortunately for me, while Daniel can be very annoying, he is honest.

"Erh...nothing," he said.

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? So you've just decided you're going to do my homework because I'm so awesome?"

"You're so full of yourself," Daniel muttered to himself.

I looked at him expectantly.

"Well you see...I _might_ have been _forced _by Maria's 'stare of doom' into telling her that Tedahko was living here."

"You told her WHAT?!"

Daniel looked a bit taken back, as if he hadn't expected me to shout like that. That showed him.

"I swear it wasn't my fault!" Daniel claimed, "You know how she manages to get information out of people!"

I sighed angrily, "You _so _owe me. Wait...is Tedahko okay? I mean, after being yelled at by Maria and all?"

Daniel grinned a childish grin, "Why are you so concerned about Tedahko, eh? Oh, that reminds me, how did you enjoy the play? Have fun up there 'acting'? I certainly had fun watching it."

"You're loving this, aren't you?"

"Yup."

I then headed upstairs to see if Tedahko was alright. Before I knocked on the door to her bedroom, however, I happened to hear her talking to herself. Was is just me, or did she tend to do that a lot?

"Will you be quiet? I've already tried that."...

"STUPID THING! Get. On. The. String!"

...

"Don't _you_ tell _me_ to not get frustrated."

...

"Oh please. Don't start singing! You promised to stop that."

...

"No, I was will _not _admit it!"

...

"I'm not denying anything!"

...

"Anne? Please go away."

Anne... the name sounded familiar. I searched through my memories until I came to the one that was accurate. It was from yesterday.

_"After the way I acted, you're not angry at me?" _

_"I guess I was angrier at myself more than anyone else. Anne helped me learn that."_

_"Who's Anne?"_

"_Erh, no-one." _

Unusual. Who was this Anne that Tedahko was talking about, or talking to? It certainly wasn't anybody that I knew. Tedahko was probably talking to this 'Anne' on her phone. Maybe she wasn't even talking to herself at all. Either way, it didn't really matter. Worse come to worse, Tedahko had an imaginary friend. Though I was certainly hoping this wasn't the case, as she seemed a bit too old to have one.

I decided to knock on the door and check if she was okay. Once I had knocked, a silence came from the room. I thought I heard a whisper, but I might have just been imagining things.

"Tedahko?"

There was another long silence, but she eventually spoke up.

"Uh...yeah...erh....come in." She sounded rather nervous. Maybe Maria had been harsher on her than I first thought. I opened the door, and saw her sitting at her sitting on the floor. My mind was over-came by a sense of nostalgia. The memory came flooding back to me. This time, it wasn't the memory of what happened at the Matcom complex. The memory which constantly kept arising, failing to leave me alone. The memory that I still secretly cried about, as the pictures as clear as day flashed by before my very eyes.

No.

It was the memory from earlier that I saw. The memory from the play.

Ironic, huh? The memory of Matcom, it had been so awful. But this memory...it was different. Maybe even a good memory, even.

_Good? _I asked myself, _Why is the memory good? It was just a play. Nothing more._

Yet, the memories still wouldn't leave me alone. Why?

Next to Tedahko there was a pile of beads. Her right hand was holding a piece of thread, while her left fist was clinched, as if she was holding something in it. She looked up, but not directly at me.

"Oh, Erek, hi...I'm just...erh...making a necklace."

Well, that explained the _"STUPID THING! Get. On. The. String!" _thing.

"Are you okay? I heard that Maria found out. She didn't yell her head off at you, did she?"

Tedahko looked down at the ground sheepishly and....blushed? No, again, I must have been imagining things.

"She was surprisingly calm, actually."

"What did she say?"Tedahko opened her mouth to speak, but froze up. I was tempted to roll my eyes. Tedahko tended to freeze on the spot like that a lot. Maybe she was lying and Maria really did yell her head off. It was twenty straight seconds later that I realized something wasn't quite right. Tedahko was still sitting there, with her mouth open as if she was about to speak.

"Uh, Teh? Can you hear me?" I waved my hand in front of her face.

No response.

I would have to try something different.

"Dad used your broom to sweep up dirt earlier. Hope you don't mind."

She still said nothing. Hmm, I thought that would get a response out of her for sure.

Then I figured it out.

"Okay. Ellimist, Drode, which one of you is it?" I anxiously scanned the room.

"Neither," said a voice.

I looked to a girl standing next to Tedahko. At first glance, I would have thought it was Rachel. But when I looked closer, I realized the girl was a lot older. Perhaps around eighteen or nineteen. Besides, her eyes were the wrong color for her to be Rachel.

I laughed to myself, "So what is this, Ellimist? One of your new forms?"

The girl frowned angrily, "Idiot..." she muttered.

"Uh...Drode?"

"No."

"Then who exactly are you?"

She grinned, "Allow me to introduce my self. My name is -" she stopped her self. "On second thoughts, my name isn't important."

"Is it Anne?"

She looked a bit taken back, "Oh gee, thanks. Ruin the fun in it, why don't you. How did you figure it out?"

"I overheard Tedahko talking to 'herself'. So answer my question: who, and what for that matter, are you?"

"Well my name is Anne, and I'm..."

"A servant of Crayak or The Ellimist?"

"What!? No! But just for the record, I'm on the Ellimist's side. Sort of."

I rolled my eyes, "Just great," I muttered.

"But that isn't important," she continued, "Tedahko needs to tell you something. But unfortunately, she's too hard-headed and stubborn to tell your herself. So I'll do it for her. Erek, she -"

"How do you know my name?" I demanded.

Anne didn't look to pleased that she was interrupted, "Not important. Like I was saying, she -"

"Tut tut tut. I won't tell the android that, if I were you," taunted a familiar voice.

Anne looked really ticked this time. Her ticked expression turned into a bitter smile. "Drode?" I asked.

"Drode," confirmed Anne bitterly, "You could have at least waited until I finished the sentence, you know."

He appeared next to Anne, dark, prune like skin, beady eyes and all. The minion of Crayak. The wild card.

"Oh," he cooed, "but that would have been no fun." He turned towards Anne and smiled a sly grin, "Besides, my master thinks it would be best if he found out in a more...dramatic way."

"Your master gets no say in this," she replied, "and neither does the Ellimist, for that matter. This is my decision."

"Oh Anne, Anne, Anne," cooed Drode once more, this time mockingly, "Anne the social reject. Anne the girlfriend of an Andalite. Anne the dead. Hasn't your mother ever told you not to mix with the..."

He shot me a sidewards glance, "Well, we can't exactly say 'the living', now can we?"

"Go and crawl back into a hole, Drode," spat Anne.

Drode pretended to look wounded, "Oh, such hard words."

"Excuse me?" I interrupted, "Would someone care to explain what is going on here?"

They both looked at me."Oh, I'm sorry android," Drode said with fake-sympathy, "You don't need to be hearing this. We'll continue our little argument in Z-Space." With that, he clicked his claw-like fingers and they both disappeared.

And time began working again.

&&&

_(Tedahko's POV)_

Once Maria had gone back down to the underground park, I went upstairs to my room. It was there that I began to attempt to make a necklace out of the crystal I have found on the beach. Luckily for me, there was a small hole at the top of the crystal already (don't ask me why, it was like that when I found it.) Unlucky for me, it wasn't easily threading it.

Especially when Anne wouldn't shut up.

_You're doing it wrong. You have to lick the end of the thread._

"Will you be quiet? I've already tried that."Anne sighed to herself, _Then try it again._

I ignored her. "STUPID THING! Get. On. The. String!" I said angrily, as I tried to get the bead on. It seemed that either the thread was too big, or the crystal was too small. Either way, the damn things hated me.

_Don't get frustrated, _Anne warned, _Frustration is why you can't thread the crystal on._

"Don't _you_ tell _me_ to not get frustrated."

"_Seo dhibh a cháirde duan Óglaigh -"_

"Oh please. Don't start singing! You promised to stop that."

_Not until you admit that you like like Erek._

"No, I was will _not _admit it!"

_You're denying it, Tedahko._

"I'm not denying anything!"

_Admit it._

"Anne? Please go away."

I felt Anne grin, _Oh, you'd like that. Wouldn't you?_

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. My mind went into panic mode. What if it was Erek? I...I couldn't speak to him! Not with what happened in the play. How was I going to look him the eye again, what was I going to do?

_And you're saying you're not denying anything, _Anne muttered, _If you didn't _like _like him, then this situation wouldn't be so awkward for you._

I...wouldn't necessarily say my recount of the play was bad, though. In fact, it wasn't so bad at all. Nice even. Especially the part when we -

What am I saying?!

_HARAAH! SHE ADMITED IT! _Anne cheered, Well, sort of but -

_ANNE! Stop reading my thoughts, _I screeched.

"Tedahko?"

Oh crap. Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap. It was him. What was I going to do?!

_Oh look, he's here! _Anne said happily, _Perfectly time to tell him what you've been denying. And if you don't, then you can make sure I will._

_I don't believe you. What can you do? After all, you're just my subconscious._

_Want to find out?_

_You're bluffing._

"Uh...yeah...erh....come in," I croaked nervously.

The door opened and Erek walked in. I didn't look at him, as I was still nervous beyond wit's end. But I knew it was him. I could feel his gaze resting upon me. I looked up nervously, but still avoiding eye contact. Why couldn't I make eye contact? Why was it so hard?

"Oh, Erek, hi... I'm just...erh...making a necklace." I clutched onto the crystal in my hand, hoping it would have the same properties as a stress ball. Unfortunately, it didn't, and I remained as stressed as ever.

"Are you okay? I heard that Maria found out. She didn't yell her head off at you, did she?"

Erek seemed okay with what had happened. So why wasn't I? I quickly looked down at the ground, so he couldn't read my expression. Why was I so worried about him reading my expression, anyway? It wasn't like he was actually scanning my face for expression or anything.

_Careful there Tedahko, _Anne said mockingly, _You're blushing._

She was lying. She had to be! There was no way I would be blushing for no reason at all.

_For crying out loud! You're blushing because you _LIKE _LIKE HIM! GET IT IN YOUR HEAD! That's it. I'm telling him._ I ignored Anne's rambling. She was lying, for sure. Besides, what way did she have of communicating with Erek?

"She was surprisingly calm, actually," I replied quietly.

"What did she say?"

"She said-"

"Tedahko," Erek interrupted, a serious tone in his voice.

I looked up this time. There was something in his tone of voice that scared me. Also, the look on his face...it looked like he had seen a ghost or something.

"Does the name Anne sound familiar?"

She didn't...

_ANNE! _I called angrily. I was met by silence. How...that....

"And if it does?" I asked. Oops. Well, perhaps that wasn't my finest movie. I should have just denied it. Why, _WHY_ did I always come up with awful excuses?

I saw Erek's eyes darken, "Well whoever she was, she just decided to pause time and ramble on that you had something to tell me. So which question would you like to answer first? Who this "Anne" girl is..."

"_Or what you have to tell me?"_

**A/N: Everybody say "CLIFFIE!" And also say "Goodnight!" because I'm going to bed now. But then again, if you read this the next day, it would kind of defeat the purpose. But oh well. Please, PLEASE REVIEW! Or my mob of ducks will find you.**


	27. Darts

**A/N: Yo everyone! Behold, chapter 27! Wow, we're nearly up to chapter 30! Thanks to all of my reviews. Your support, reviews and constructive criticism has inspired me with my writing ;D And... wow. 134 reviews. Thanks so much everyone! ;D I'm so glad you're all enjoying the story!**

**In this chapter, we introduce a new POV. Any guesses? ;D It probably isn't who you think...**

**Disclaimer: My pet cacti ate it.**

**Credit: **

**Mimi-dudette for, like always, doing a great job with beta-reading! ;D**

**Cornflakecrunch for Jerk-fa-... er, I mean, Spencer's name. **

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee." **

**On with the story! XD**

Chapter 27 - Darts

My name is Tedahko.

And you know, sometimes I think life might hate me. You're probably thinking I'm being over-dramatic, huh? Think about it this way: I am a dart board. Life is the holder of the darts. And those darts include embarrassment and anger. Or even Anne, for that matter.

When life is throwing darts at you, everything is anything but happy. Especially when your subconscious decides to tell your best friend things that you would have rather remained unknown... Not that the things Anne was going to tell Erek was true. Not all true...

As much as I wanted to give Anne a slap across the face, at that moment I was angry at life more than anything else. It was life's fault that Anne even came into this equation. Why couldn't have she just left me alone? I would have been perfectly happy if she had never appeared.

"Or what you have to tell me?"

There it was. The sentence that would bring me doom. How was I going to get out of this one?

"Uh..." I said nervously, and stared down at the carpet.

"Well?" It might have been just me, but it sounded like Erek was angry when he said that. But was he angry at me?

"Are you angry at me?" I asked.

"We won't know that until you answer me."

I decided to tell him about Anne. If this ship was going to go sinking, I would drag Anne down with me. At least telling Erek about Anne would give me time to think of an excuse which would weasel me out of the second question. But... what was there to weasel out of?

_You're denying it, Tedahko._

_Stop talking! _I shouted at her, _Go away! _I then realized that I didn't even hear her voice in my head. Had I... just imagined her saying that? And if so, why did I? Paranoia. I was genuinely hoping that was all this was.

Nothing but just normal, good old paranoia. Yet another one of the darts life loves to throw at me.

"Anne is..." I began but then hesitated, "annoying." I grinned in my mind. Wherever Anne was at the moment, I hoped she had heard that.

Erek raised an eyebrow at me, "More descriptive, Tedahko?"

"You won't believe me."

Erek sighed, "We've been through this conversation before. You're my friend. Of course I'll believe you."

"But how do I know that you would _really _believe me?"

"Tedahko, just tell me."

I frowned, "Fine."

It was then that I explained to Erek who and just what Anne was. How she sang in Gaelic just to tick me off. How she loved to annoy me (I didn't mention ALL the ways, mind you). But I didn't tell Erek much about Anne's past. All I said was she was the host body to one of the 'Sub-Vissers'. I mentioned nothing about Trevor. Maybe because as much as I was angry at her for the moment, I didn't think she deserved it. I had the perfect chance to pay her back. Tell her secrets for revenge for when she almost told mine. But somehow... it didn't feel right.

Once I had finished, Erek said, "Okay, so let me get this straight. Anne is the essence of a dead girl who

plays the part of your subconscious?"

"Close enough."

Erek looked confused. "But how did she even get into your mind in the first place?"

"According to Anne, this being called 'The Ellimist' did it. Whoever he is meant to be."

Erek looked away.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

"You could say that," he made a bitter, ruined smile, "Let's just say he enjoys meddling in that which is none of his business."

Sounds very much like Anne to me.

"Anne also said you had something to tell me..."

Damn! I was hoping he would forget about it. And during all that time, I was so busy being angry at Anne that I hadn't even worked out an excuse!

_Has the words 'the truth' ever dawned on you?_

As soon as she said those words, I showed Anne some pretty explicit words to express my gratitude.

_I missed you too, _said Anne, sarcastically of course, _And if you were wondering what was taking me so long, I was having an argument with Drode in Z-Space. Stupid prune ball._

I was curious of to what this "Z-Space" was. But first things first... _Drode? _I asked, _The name sounds familiar..._

_He appeared in your room._

I shuddered, _It was THAT thing?_

"Tedahko?" Erek asked. It was then that I realized that I have spaced out. Again. "Is Anne back?"

"Uh... yeah! And she says that I didn't have anything to tell you. She just simply... erh... passed the message on to the wrong person."

_What – NO!_

Erek shrugged, "If you say so." But I saw that faint flicker across his face, which showed that he knew I was lying. Come to think of it, he had a sort of nice face. Cute, even...

_STOP IT!_ I scolded myself. What was wrong with me?

Anne just laughed. _Admit it. Just admit it._

_&&&_

_(Erek's POV)_

I knew she was lying. The look on her face, the one that could possibly be portrayed as nervousness, showed that. After all, something was telling me that this Anne girl was not stupid. She called me by my name, so she obviously knew who she was talking to.

Though I just shrugged it off, I couldn't help but to wonder what that something that she wanted to tell me was. What could she have possible have meant by saying, "_she's too hard-headed and stubborn to tell you herself"_? Obviously, I already knew the part about Teh being hard-headed and stubborn. But still, it completely baffled me. It had been clear that whatever Anne was going to tell me, Tedahko hadn't given her consent first, which would explain her reaction.

At the same time, I also felt kind of hurt that Tedahko didn't want to tell me. Even though I had told her that I was her friend, and that I would listen to her, she still tended to keep things to herself most of the time. But I suppose there was really nothing I could do about that. It was just the way she was.

Now Anne, that was a whole different matter. It made me angry what the Ellimist had done, and how Tedahko had no choice in it. What right did he have to put Anne's essence into Tedahko's body?

Essence. That word brought back memories. Not bad, but not exactly good either. The time when the Chee had extracted the Pemalite essence and graphed it into the DNA of wolves many of thousands of years ago. Though the Pemalites were advanced, the technology which we used to do this was not ours. It was technology given by the Sanyanik Mekur as a gift a few hundred of years before. The Sanyanik Mekur was a race of aliens who visited our planet often. Like the Pemalites, they were a very advanced species, especially when it came to technology.

The next day, which was a Sunday, the Animorphs called me to Cassie's barn so they could tell me how the mission went.

"So Erek," Marco began, "Would you like to hear the good news, or the bad news first?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and began kicking at the air recklessly, "What good news?"

"That Britney and I are going to the school dance together!"

"Marco, has she even said yes?"

"Well, no but -"

"Okay guys, thats enough," Jake interrupted, before Marco and Rachel got into a verbal war.

I frowned, "So this mission...what happened?"

"Well," Jake said, "Our suspicions are confirmed. He's an NSA agent. Or at least a trainee."

"Well that's just perfect," I said sarcastically, "An NSA agent that knows I'm an android. I may as well give away the secret of the Chee right now."

Marco gasped, "He's capable of sarcasm! Now all we need to do is get Ax to master it!" That got Marco some angry looks from everyone across the room.

"Marco, this is serious," Jake said.

(Yeah,) Tobias agreed from his usual place in the rafters, (the NSA with knowledge of a race of alien androids? Not exactly a good result.)

"There's also two other problems," Jake said, "One, the kid is a prodigy."

That would explain why he was so 'perfect' at everything. Stupid jerk-face.... Besides... I was still more perfect...

"Two..." Jake trailed off, "Two..."

"Yes?"

"He...he is David's cousin, Erek," Cassie finished quietly.

David? As in the Animorph-Gone-Bad? It had been a long time since I had heard his name. Whatever happened to him anyway? I knew the Animorphs... took care of him, but didn't know what they meant to that.

Cousins. I should have seen it coming. Of course they would be cousins. They're both evil, major jerk-faces.

"Woah," I exclaimed, "Um...okay. Cousins. Is Spencer... do you think he is a controller?"

Jake shook his head, "No, we don't believe so."

"Yeah," Marco agreed, "the way he acted wasn't at all controller-ish."

"That isn't a word, Marco," Rachel pointed out smugly.

"Is in my dictionary, Xena."

"I suppose 'short' and 'annoying' is too?"

"Okay guys, that's enough!" shouted Jake for the second time, looking slightly exasperated that he had to break up Marco and Rachel's war of words twice in one day.

(We know this situation definitely isn't good. But the question is, what are going to do about it?) asked Tobias. We all paused. I guess nobody really had any ideas. Rachel was the one to break the silence.

"Capture them! Let's show those NSA creeps!"

Marco rolled his eyes and said, "You're dating that, Tobias."

"I think it would be best if Erek doesn't show up for school tomorrow," Jake said, "it will give us a day to think the whole situation through."

"But who's going to protect Tedahko if I'm not there?" I asked.

Marco cracked up, and the other Animorphs all tried to suppress their grins. And failed miserably. What was so funny?!

(I do not understand the purpose of laughter over this matter,) stated Ax, perhaps a bit of worry in his thought-speech voice.

"You and me both," I muttered.

After the Animorphs had finished laughing, I demanded, "Okay, what's so funny!?"

Jake wiped the smirk off his face, "Nothing man... absolutely nothing."

Marco snorted, "Yeah, nothing," then cracked up again.

I was completely bewildered to why they were laughing. But I knew one thing – I was growing tired of it. "Can we get back to the point?"

"Of course," Jake said with a grin, but the snapped into leader-mode, "Can any of your people watch over -"

"You mean protect?" Marco interrupted, then fell to the floor, crying fresh tears of laughter.

"-her," Jake finished.

"Let's see," I said, "The Chee who plays my father is working, Lourdes is busy being a... homeless person. Maria hates my guts... um...." If this had been a cartoon, a light bulb would have appeared over my head. "I think I know someone who might be able to do it."

&&&

My name is Jenny.

And it had only been two days since I had been back in America, and I was longing for Sweden. I had been holidaying over there for a month, staying with a group of Chee. It was a nice break from my every day life of spying on the Yeerks and pretending to be a middle school student.

"Jenny, no food on the couch!" I rolled my eyes.

There was definitely a lot I didn't miss.

"Come on, 'Mom,'" I whined, sounding like any fussy middle school kid, "just this once."

Chee-Kendrak, the Chee who was playing my mother, frowned, "Fine. But clean up the stain

before Maria's next visit. She'll throw a fit if she sees it."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say."

The door bell rang. To my displeasure, I turned my head away from the TV screen and headed for the door. When I opened the door, I was greeted by what appeared to be a street person.

Looks can be deceiving, however.

"Hi Jenny!"

"Hey Lourdes."

Lourdes was my _Kahshos Chee._ Translated from Pemalithian, it basically means "best friend." She often came over to my house and we gossiped for hours on end. Also, behind Maria and the other Chee's backs, she secretly changed her holograph to the look of a normal, everyday person and we went shopping together. Once we used Maria's credit card unknowingly. I think Maria blamed it on Chee-Shanos.

I let Lourdes in. "So," she began, "how was Sweden?"

"It was excellent! The food was delicious and the people were so friendly and -"

As soon as Chee-Kendrak exited the room, I got to the point.

"I found the perfect Chee to pair the old grouch up with."

That was another thing we enjoyed doing with our time – matchmaking. Ever wondered how Martha and George Washington ever got together? Just ask us. Okay, so I know we weren't _meant _to interfere with the affairs of humans. But matchmaking wasn't necessarily _interfering. _It was just pushing people in the right direction.

Lourdes grinned."Someone for Old Maria? Really?"

I nodded, "Yep. His name's Chee-Iantos, but his human name is currently Ian. I swear, he's like the Swedish version of Maria."

"Harsh and strict?" she asked.

"You bet."

"Well, I've also got a matter up my sleeve that may require some... interfering."

"Involving who?"

"Erek."I laughed, "Chee-Shanos? Doesn't he have heaps of girls chasing after him, though?" Chee-Shanos was another one of my good friends, though I considered him a bit of an idiot sometimes. He was the one I usually spent most of my time with when spying on the Yeerks.

"He's oblivious to the fact that his holograph is what human girls define as cute," Lourdes said with a giggle, "Poor thing."

"So who did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Tedahko."

I raised an eyebrow, "Who's Tedahko?" Lourdes then explained to me who Tedahko was. By the end of it, I laughed.

"A human?" I asked, "You do remember what happened last time we tried to pair a Chee up with a human, right?"

"The time we tried to pair Daniel up with Amelia Earheart?"

"Yeah, that one. Not only did we break Chee law, but the results were disastrous."

Lourdes shuddered, "Yeah. But still, I think we should give this a go. What happened with Daniel and Amelia Earheart was.... unfortunate. But you never know. This one might actually turn out okay."

The doorbell rang again.

I groaned with not to much enthusiasm, as I had to get off the couch a second time. I walked open to door and opened it. And who was standing there but Erek.

I grinned, "Oh, Chee-Shanos. We were just talking about you." I heard Lourdes giggle in the background.

Erek raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?" I opened the door further so he could walk in.

"How was Sweden?" he asked.

Grinning, I said, "So that's all you came over to ask? 'How was Sweden?'"

"Is there a problem with that?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, come on Erek. You never come to pay me a visit after I get back from holidays. What's really up?"

The expression of his holographic face darkened, "I need to talk to you," before looking at Lourdes and adding, "alone."

"Whatever you can tell me, you can tell Lourdes," I said, rather stubbornly.

"But -"

"Looks like you can't get out of this one, Erek," said Lourdes smugly. I knew Lourdes hadn't taken offense to Erek only wanting to talk to me. They were, after all, good friends as well. This brought a question to mind, what did he have to tell me?

"Fine..." he muttered, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I believe I have school. Why?"

Erek sighed to himself but then his expression turned to something I didn't often see from him. He actually looked scared.

"You two can't speak a word of this to anyone. Especially not Maria." With both of us agreeing, Erek went on. "Both the Chee and my friend are in danger. It's... It's a really long story, and I shouldn't go into any details at the moment."

The Chee? In danger?

That was _not _good.

Throughout the many thousands of years of the Chee living on Earth, we have had surprisingly little trouble. Probably because we were so good at pretending to be humans, that nobody really got suspicious. However, lately... things hadn't exactly been going perfectly. First there was the incident were all the Chee's holographs and mobility centers started shutting down and the self-destruct function was somehow activated. This whole situation ended up as one crazy mission for the Animorphs.

Before that, there was the incident the Pemalite Crystal. The Animorphs had helped us out, of course. I suppose Erek had too, in a way.

I was one of the Chee, along with Erek and a few others, who wanted to fight. Who wanted to override the nonviolence programming.

"_What did it feel like? To fight for the freedom of this planet?"_

_He looked up at me, a dark, hollow look in his eyes, "You have no idea, Jenny. You have no idea how it feels like to carry the burden each day. To grieve each day for what you destroyed."_

"_But you saved them, Erek. Without you, they wouldn't have had a chance."_

"_I know..." he replied quietly, "But knowing isn't going to lift that burden."_

Ever since that encounter and how I saw it effect Erek; I had seen the situation in a new light. No longer did I want to fight in this war. What Erek had done had ripped him apart. I didn't want to end up that same way.

I knew that some Chee, Maria for example, probably hated Erek for what he had done.

I didn't though. I never could.

You know how there's an old human saying, "There's a time and place for everything?" Maybe the situation was like that. Perhaps, it wasn't right overall. But it was right at the time. He had killed. That in itself was a wrong. But he had killed for the freedom of the human race. That was the right.

&&&

_(Tedahko's POV)_

The Sunday afternoon was very long and quite boring. Erek had gone out earlier, not bothering to tell Mr. King or myself where he was going.

So I was bored.

Did I mention I was bored?

Since I was so bored, I did almost nothing that afternoon but walking around the house being bored.

Why was I being to restless?

_Because you can't stop thinking about -_

_Shut up._

_You didn't even hear what I was about to say._

_I didn't need to._

Anne snorted disdainfully but then went quiet.

Mr. King finally noticed that I was bored and told me to stop moping around the house and that I could watch TV with him.

_Awkwwward, _chimed in Anne in an annoying manner. I ignored her.

So here we were. Watching some random soap opera that Mr. King somehow found entertaining. I had no idea what was going on. I'm not really the type who likes soap operas. Especially when lately life had taken up the form of one.

Stupid, dart throwing life...

Being still bored, even watching TV, I thought of an interesting question to ask Mr. King. One I had been wondering for quiet awhile now...

"Mr. King...?

"Yes Tedahko?" he replied, his eyes still fixed to the screen of the television.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Can it wait till the ads?"

I mentally frowned. Were soap operas more entertaining than me? Stupid soap operas.... stupid....

Anne laughed, _Tedahko's jealous of soap operas. How ironic since she's a walking one already._

The ads then came on and I spoke up, "I have to know – what is it with androids and watching TV? It seems every time downstairs at least one of you have your eyes glued to it. No offense, or anything."

Mr. King chuckled, "No offense taken. The Chee have been living on this earth for a few good thousands of years. And after a while...well, day to day life becomes rather dull. As for this marvelous human invention," he coughed and muttered something to himself, "we get a break from our own close-to-normal lives." He shrugged, "Besides, we're androids. Its not like its bad for our health and we have to do something to pass the time."

I suppose he had a point there. If I lived forever then I suppose life would get quite boring after a while.

About half way through the ad break, Mr. King gestured towards a mug sitting on the kitchen bench. His eyes didn't even move from the screen.

"Could you get that for me?"

I felt like snapping, "Do it yourself!" But then I remembered that I was a guest here. Besides, Mr. King was currently my legal guardian. I didn't want to tick him off.

Heh, an android as a legal guardian. I never thought about it that way...

Still in my thoughts about how funny it was to have a legal guardian, I made the mug slowly float towards myself. Mr. King then looked at me and asked, "Could you get the mug -" he turned his head towards the direction of the floating mug and stopped mid-sentence.

It was then that I realized I had screwed up.

_Again, _added Anne smugly, _smooth move, Tedahko. _

Mr. King pointed at the mug, which was still floating in mid-air. I would have put the mug down, but I really too startled at the moment to.

"Tedahko..." Mr. King said slowly, "Why is my mug floating?"

By now I had worked up the nerve to put the mug back down on solid ground.

"Um..." I replied, "...What floating mug? I don't see one."

"I'll ask again," he said sternly and turned towards me, "Why was my mug floating?"

Have you ever felt like you wanted to crawl up into a ball in the corner? Well that's exactly how I felt.

Oh damn.

"Um... because..." I trailed off nervously.

"Why. Was. My. Mug. Floating?"

If the situation wasn't so serious I would have laughed then. Mr. King was acting like any father who was trying to keep naughty kids in line.

I sighed to myself. There was no escape. Not even my, "the seagull did it," excuse would cover this one.

"Because... Um... I might be not exactly a hundred percent human..."

A look of shock displayed itself on Mr. King's face, "You're part alien?"

I shook my head, "No. Not alien... I'm...."

_An idiot who keeps on denying her feelings for Erek._

_Shut. Up._

"I...I used magic. But... I'm sort of the last one. We call ourselves magic users."

I waited patiently for Mr. King to absorb this information.

"M-magic? Is that so?"

I nodded slowly.

"As in pulling doves out of hats? Card tricks?"

I shook my head, "Not cheap tricks. Real magic. I can shape shift too. Want to see?"

This time, it was Mr. King's turn to shake his head, "I'm still recovering from the floating mug. Does anybody else know about this?"

"Erek does."

Mr. King smiled, "Of course. It is always Chee-Shanos who often gets into...unusual situations. I should have expected as much." I was tempted to ask what the other situations he was talking about were, but decided not too.

"You're not going to tell Maria, are you...?" I asked carefully.

Mr. King laughed loudly, "Are you joking!? Of course not! Maria would have our heads for it."

"I thought the Chee weren't capable of violence," I pointed out unnecessarily, as I already knew that was just an expression.

"Yes..." muttered Mr. King wistfully, and the muttered something else under his breath that I didn't quiet catch.

&&&

_(Jenny's POV)_

**Welcome to Chee-Write! Please write anything you please in the space belows, friends; and decorate it in the most beautiful of font!**

I began plotting down everything I would need to do for the day which Erek had lectured me about yesterday. Sure, I could remember, but plotting it down seemed necessary for some reason I was unsure of.

**Stalk Tedahko**

**If 1. fails, pester Tedahko until she agrees to be friends with you.**

**Keep Spencer away from Tedahko at all costs**

**Keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior from Spencer.**

**If any serious trouble occurs, contact Erek.**

**If any serious trouble occurs that's resolution could quiet possibly involve violence, contact the Animorphs.**

**Extra Notes**

**Tedahko often randomly faints.**

**The word "jerk-face" normally is rather effective in warding off Spencer.**

It was then that I realized that the information that Erek had given me the day before was all a load of rubbish, and I deleted the document and logged out of Chee-Write.

Becoming aware of the world around me once more, I looked around. It was before class and everyone was scattered here and there, getting books out of their lockers and talking to friends.

I kept on staring on at this scene, until I saw Tedahko approaching. Before yesterday, I would have had no idea what Tedahko would have looked like. But I didn't really have to worry about that now. Erek had sent me a picture of her via the Chee-Net. I went to Tedahko's school, so I was actually a bit surprised that I had never ran into her before.

When at her locker, she began to take out books that she would need for her first class. "Coincidentally," I happened to be standing right next to her locker.

She closed her locker and just as she was about to walk off when I said cheerfully, "Hi! I'm Jenny!"

Tedahko stared at me, "Do I... do I know you?"

I brushed back my dark, curly hair out of my eyes to give her a better view of my face. Of course, I could have automatically changed my holograph from one stage of the movement straight to the other, but I didn't want to give Tedahko a heart-attack. Besides, I didn't want her to find out I was a Chee. At least not yet.

"Nope. I'm kind of... erh... new here. So I was wondering if you could show me around. If that's not too much trouble or anything." I mentally grinned. _Another perfect excuse, Jenny, _I thought to myself.

"Oh," said Tedahko, the look of 'why are you talking to me/are you some sort of loony?' gone from her face, "I guess that would be alright."

"Great!" I exclaimed happily. Then out of the corner of my eye, I noticed somebody approaching. I instantly matched his face to the one of Spencer's. Uh oh. Better get out of here.

"I want to see the library!" I said, and grabbed Tedahko by the hand and dragged her off.

"But class is just about to start!" she protested.

"So?! Come on! To the library!"

&&&

Tedahko and I got caught for wagging class. Fortunately, the teacher who caught us was Mr. Peterson, one of the staff from administration. You see, Mr. Peterson is actually a Chee who started working here about a month ago. He simply returned us to homeroom, and explained to the teacher that we were helping him with something and that was the reason we were late.

I really had to thank Chee-Dehan later. He had also somehow managed to alter all my classes for the day, as so every class I attended it would be with Tedahko.

"Guess what Tedahko? I'm in your science class! Isn't that cool?!" I asked happily, as I sat next to her. It was lunch now, and so far I had managed to keep her away from Spencer.

"Yeah...cool..." Tedahko muttered unenthusiastically. She probably thought I was annoying, and I didn't really blame her. If I were her, I would think I was annoying too. But if this was the way I had to keep Tedahko away from Spencer, then so be it.

"Who's the pretty chick, Tedahko?" asked a voice from behind me. I turned around and incidentally recalled the face. He was Marco, one of the Animorphs. As soon as I had turned around, Marco gave me a puzzled look.

"You look familiar...."

I laughed, "Everyone says that." Then I turned around and went on eating my meal. Marco just walked off. Strange, from what I have heard from Erek, Marco normally was quiet the Casanova. I was secretly hoping that he didn't remember me from our encounter at that Sharing picnic.

"So what do you do in your free time?" I asked randomly.

Tedahko groaned under her breath, "Anything, really. Go for walks, watch TV, make jewelry..."

"I like making jewelry too!" I said happily. Totally false. I hated making jewelry. It was possibly the most boring thing to do in the world.

"I'm making a piece right now. I brought it to school so I could work on it whenever I get a spare minute. I don't suppose you would like to see?"

"Oh, could I?"

She unzipped the front pocket of her bag and held up a necklace. It had beautiful little colored beads and in the middle a....

No...

That wasn't the...

"Excuse me for a moment," I said, and dashed out of the cafeteria and into the hallway as fast as I could without any humans getting suspicious.

**Welcome to the Chee-Net Chat Network! We hope you have a wonderful day, friends! Please try and refrain from using an vulgar or hurtful language in the chat room. Thankyou!**

**Chee-Lantos: Daniel! Where is Erek?!**

**Chee-Ludos: Huh? How am I supposed to know?**

**Chee-Lantos: He isn't connected to the Chee-Net. Where is he?**

**Chee-Ludos: Jenny, I have no idea. I'm at work. But I'm guessing he'd be at home. If its** _**that**_ **urgent, then why don't you just use a pay phone?**

Oh... right. I logged off the Chee-net. And then ran as fast as a blur down the hallway, out of the school, and to a pay phone. My fingers were shaking nervously as I inserted the coins and dialed the number.

_Ring, Ring,_

_Ring, Ring,_

_Ring -_

"Hello?"

"Erek!" I exclaimed.

"Jenny? What's happened?"

"It's Tedahko she... she..."

"She's what? Is she hurt? What happened?"

"No, not hurt... she...." I trailed off and a long silence came about.

"_She... It's the crystal, Erek. Tedahko has the crystal."_

**A/N: MEGA C-C-CLIFFIE! ;D This is probably one of the most dramatic cliffies yet. But don't worry, I already have another one planned within the next five chapters that will outdo this one by far.. Speaking of cliffie, I saw somebody using the word in a review on somebodies story (in the Animorphs section) the other day. Cliffie must be catching on! ;D I should so buy copyright on that word.**

**Like I said in one of the previous reviews, I need ideas for filler chapters. Please let me know if you have any.**

**Okay, now it's time to play, "What do you think will happen after this killer cliffie?"**

**...And Review ;D**

**Please?**


	28. Relapse

**A/N: Wow, I don't think I have written a chapter this short since... well, a while. Anyway, this chapter is more of a sidestory. For those of you who are groaning with boredom and thinking, "Side story - boring." Then just know there is actually a huge clue in this chapter to later chapters. After you read it, let me know what you think it means ;D**

**Like always, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I absolutely love reading them and replying to them. It makes me so glad that everyone is enjoying the story!**

**The next chapter will start back from the whole scene with Jenny and Erek. So look forward to it ;D**

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of them. My book of disclaimers only goes so far.**

**Credit:**

**Mimi-dudette for an a great job beta-reading. Flawless job, like always ;D -Tosses Lamington- ...Nobody here knows what a Lamington is? Google it then ;D**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name. **

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee." **

_Chapter 28 – Relapse _

"Ellimist."

**Anne.**

I stared face to face with his disguise, floating in the midst of Z-Space. All around us there was nothing but dull gray. Not even a lone star hung in Z-Space. It was that boring of a place.

"Pieces of reality have been shifting," I said. I sent him a sideways glance, "And don't you try and deny it, either. I know that you're up to something."

The face of his disguise, an old man, smiled. **What would make you think that?**

"Gut instinct," I replied, with a sense of certainly. Indeed, something had just happened a matter of minutes ago. I was unsure of what it was or what was happening. The feeling was hard to describe. The only way I could describe was that something had been put into place.

I knew the Ellimist was behind it.

**Ah, I see.**

"So you're not going to tell me what you're planning on doing?"

**No.**

"Thought so. Well, do what you want. Not like I would care, anyway. Just don't interfere with _my _plan."

**What makes you so sure that **_**I **_**am not following a similar plan to yourself?**

Was he being serious? With the Ellimist, it was pretty hard to tell. The guy was a total monotone.

"For one, Crayak wouldn't have one bar of it. Two, why would you be interested?"

**Crayak does not care for anything involving...love. Why I would be interested is a whole different story...**

"I have time."

**All I shall say is that through happiness, amazing things can be accomplished.**

I was no longer the biggest fortune cookie in the universe. What was annoying me most at that moment was that Tedahko wasn't there to see it.

"In case you haven't noticed, Tedahko isn't exactly happy at the moment. She isn't overly stressed either, though. She keeps on denying it. Hey Toomin, I have a question. What do you think about it?"

I could almost feel the Ellimist cringe in pain when I called him by his real name. **What are you referring to?**

I rolled my eyes, "You can read my mind. So don't pretend that you don't know. I mean what is between Erek and Tedahko. What do you think about it?"

**Possibilities. **

I frowned, "What do you mean?"

The Ellimist smiled a weird smile once again with the face of that disguise. And once again, I found it slightly disturbing.

**A chance to change what was once different.**

The reality hit me like a bug splatting against a window of a car traveling a hundred miles an hour.

"This time line. It was different once before, wasn't it?"

**Yes.**

"Erek and Tedahko...did they even meet in this time line? Before it was changed?"

**Yes. But they met too late.**

"What – what are you doing, Ellimist?" I asked, "I'm actually scared of what you're planning."

I was. I was very scared. "_Yes, but they met too late." _What did he mean by that? What did he intend when he said "too late?" Had...had something awful happened before this time line had changed?

**There is no need for fear, Anne.**

"Fear?" I demanded angrily, "What I'm feeling is beyond fear. I have no idea who you are. I have no idea how this is even possible. And also, I have no idea why you haven't filled your half of our little bargain yet!"

**Patience.**

I snorted, "I've had enough of that. Ellimist, you alter time and space. I want to see what would have happened if I had gone with Trevor that day instead of staying behind. In fact, I want that to happen. Chances are that everything would have turned out perfectly fine."

**One like you should not linger where you don't belong.**

"What's that supposed to mean? Ellimist, I deserve this choice."

His sigh echoed from everywhere at once.

**Very well Anne. We shall see what happens.**

&&&

My name is Anne Bathurst-Smith.

There was once a time when my life was a hundred percent normal. Well, sort of. I was the only person with an Irish accent at the whole of the fancy private school I attended, I had a bizarre conjoined last name, and my best friend Trevor was so weird that I could have sworn he wasn't even human.

You see, at the moment I was on my knees at his doorstep, about to start bawling my eyes out. I'm not the one to often cry. In fact, at school I'm more the one with the reputation of being tough. People would always be like, "Oh look, here comes that weird kid Anne. Who is she going to threaten today?"

I had a rule about that. Never threaten or attempt to punch somebody's lights out with out it being done to you first. Needless to say, I didn't agree with the phrase, "Two wrongs don't make a right." Trevor had always kept me in line though. Speaking of Trevor...

The door swung open. Trevor's dad was standing there, and he did _not _look happy. Normally, I wouldn't have blamed him. But I knew better. He was evil. Somehow he had...I don't know. Kidnapped Trevor and brainwashed him.

Earlier this morning, I had seen a news article on the television about some guy named Matthew Rowe who disappeared years ago. The guy had the same face as Trevor. I instantly figured it out. And instead of calling the police, I decided to barge over there and take matters into my own hands.

"I am sorry Anne, but Etrevik is still asleep."

"Bull!" I spat, and pushed past Trevor's father.

"Trevor!" I shouted again. The house was silent. I heard no reply.

Trevor's father looked at me with a dark and perhaps slightly scary look in his eyes, "Leave, Anne."

I felt a weird thing feeling in my stomach then. The sort of feeling that makes you feel sure something bad was going to happen.

At that moment Trevor came running through the living room. I was actually about to burst out laughing, because I noticed Trevor had socks on his hands, but I was too panicked in the end.

"Anne! What's wrong?!"

Trevor's father closed the door. "I believe she saw the news article."

I had to get him out of here. We were both in serious danger being around that...that monster which calls himself Trevor's father. "Trevor, we have to leave! This man is evil! He kidnapped you!"

"Etrevik, we must leave. The Yeerks are probably already on our tail."

Yeerks...

A feeling of deja-vu overcame me. Everything that was going on around me... I don't know how or why, but somehow it seems familiar. Too familiar for my liking.

"Trevor!" I shouted again. I was desperate to here his answer and even an explanation, for that matter. All I wanted to hear was the sound of his voice as he said that he was going break free of that monster.

"Calm down, Anne. The human you saw on the news, he was not me."

Calm down? Calm down?! He serious expected me to be calm? He had been brainwashed by a monster, which I was standing right next to. The thought of being calm outraged me.

"Can't you see Trevor?" I shouted, trying to stop the tears from streaking my face, "This man has brainwashed you!"

"Follow me, Anne," he said simply. I…I could serious recall that he had said that somewhere before.

Familiar.

I followed him into the living room. Maybe I should have felt unsure or something. That would have been natural. But I didn't. I needed to follow him.

"Anne, I have to go very soon. But before I leave, there is something I need to tell you." He said this as he walked around the living room, closing all the curtains.

Tell me something? Tell me what?

"Etrevik-Sirinial-Follian! You shall not tell this human anything!" interrupted Trevor's so-called father. There was also a giddy part of me that thought, "huh, what a weird full name Trevor has."

But I was still damn angry.

"Shut up!" I spat, "he can tell me whatever he damn well wants!"

"You are pushing my patience, human!" his father yelled back at me.

I felt like yelling back, "Yes, I am human! What are you, a low life piece of dirt?!"

Though I didn't.

Trevor put his hand out, indicating for him to stop, "That is enough, Maratonk. This is my decision, not yours."

Maratonk...now that was weird. In fact, the name didn't even sound Russian. The feeling in the pit of my stomach increased.

Somehow, I knew something bad was set to happen. Something bad...

Trevor's father shot him a dirty look and left the room.

"Anne," Trevor said, "I want you to know the truth. Anne, I am not from this planet."

Deja-vu.

Close to home.

What was happening?

I felt the familiar need to stick to the conclusion I had before. The deja-vu...was probably just my imagination. Yes, that was right. Nothing more, nothing less. "No, Trevor! You just think that! This man, he has brainwashed you, he has -"

"No, he has not brainwashed me," he said, "Anne, I am not from this world, I am not human, but from the race called the Andalites."

He had officially gone nuts. Aliens? They didn't exist. Simple as that.

_Aliens, Andalites, Yeerks,_ The words flashed before my eyes, almost giving me a heart attack. What...something was wrong. I could feel it.

_The conclusion Anne, _I thought to myself, _stick to it._

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, I get it! This all a prank! This is all some sick joke!"

(No Anne. It is not.)

I froze stiff and didn't move. There was a...a voice. I looked at Trevor and he nodded. It was...his voice. His…but how?

(I want you to see what I really look like.)

It was then I found out that Trevor wasn't lying. As I watched his normal, human body disfigure, mold and crunch into a different form, I knew he wasn't human.

I should have been shocked. I should have been screaming. So why wasn't I?

"So, you're not from Russia?"

For some reason, that was all I could think of to say.

Trevor smiled. Not with a mouth (because he didn't have one), but with his eyes.

(No, I am not.)

He then turned serious again, (I have to go Anne. I am sorry, but we are in danger, and you are also. I want you to leave this house, and run as far as you can.)

I had no idea what to do. Only a day ago, I was dancing with him. And now...and now...

"No." I said sternly, "Trevor, take me with you. I don't care that you're an alien! I can't stand the thought of not being around you."

(Etrevik!) Yelled another voice which I am going to presume was "Maratonk," (We must get to the ship!)

Trevor hesitated, a look of uncertainty on his alien face. He then held out one of his too-many fingered hands, (We must hurry, Anne. But first, are you sure this is what you want?)

You know how I said I was suffering from a serious case of deja-vu before? Well this time I was completely left without a clue. The question caught me off guard. But I already knew my answer.

"Yes. It is."And during that mad dash we made towards the ship that Maratonk had mentioned (which turned out to be hidden in the basement) for some strange reason the same few words continued to echo through my head; "_like Altair and Vega, Anne. I will find you."_

&&&

The structure of the ship didn't concern me. Nothing about it did. After all, at the speed we were running at I didn't even get the chance to say, "Oh my gosh, cool! A space ship!"

By the time Trevor and I had made our way through the hatch of the ship, his hand in mine, Maratonk was already waiting.

A very non-human looking Maratonk. He was the same sort of alien as Trevor. If you have no idea what they would look like, which you probably won't, let me give you a brief description: imagine a scorpion crossed with a centaur. Now imagine the head having no mouth, slits as a nose, two eyes, and two extra pairs of eyes on stalks. That's pretty much what an Andalite looks like.

(You brought the human?) Maratonk demanded, before recomposing himself, (Never mind. We have more important things to worry about for the time being.) He trotted over to a large panels of consoles which I presume would be a computer system.

(Computer: Launch. Set destination for Andalite Home World.)Trevor had to hold me to I didn't fall over when the ship started to launch.

(Would you remind me why your species only have two legs, Anne?)I rolled my eyes. He often asked this question. "Because we're cool," I responded.

(But the temperature in some places of earth can reach boiling temperatures, so how can-)

"It's an expression, horse-boy."

Horse-boy. Huh. The expression seemed to fit.

I slowly made my way clumsily over to the window of the ship and looked through.

Was that...?

"Holy crap! That's Earth!"

I was so shocked from the site that I fell flat on my but. That, and I might be a little scared of heights...just a little.

Trevor offered me a hand to help me up. I graciously took it.

(You have never been on a space craft before, Anne?)

"I've been on one of those flight simulators at the arcade at the mall. Does that count?"

(Yeerks!) I heard Maratonk exclaim, disgust in his voice, (Etrevik, they are closing in. They were hiding behind Earth's moon. Take the weapon controls.)

Yeerks. Familiar. Very familiar.

"What are Yeerks?"

(They are aliens. But unlike Andalites, they are parasitic species. They enslave species across the galaxy. Earth is their current target.)

"Earth?" I demanded, "Earth is being invaded by...what?!"

(They are firing!) Maratonk exclaimed once more.

(Dodge!)

The ship jerked violently to the right.

Left.

Right.

Left.

(There is too many of them!)

(Is that...that's the Blade Ship!)

I stared out of the window. Space ships. In every direction I could see, I could see space ships. Everywhere.

(We have been beaten,) Maratonk said with sorrow, (I shall create a _hirac delest. _You should say goodbye to the human, Etrevik.)

I was in shock. Now instead of ordinary word, random words flashed through my mind. Unrelated to the situation.

_Tedahko. Erek. Crystal. Kidnap._

Gibberish. That was all I saw it as. The world was about to crumble and collapse, with me standing on it.

(Anne.)

I turned round and faced him. I was crying. "Are we...are we going to die?"

I saw the sad look in his eyes that confirmed my fear, before he even said a word.

(Yes Anne.) He walked up to me and embraced me in a hug. The tears kept coming. As much as I tried, I couldn't stop. It was like breathing.

"I love you."

The words slipped out of my mouth. I couldn't stop them. If you think I was being over-dramatic, you should look at the situation. I was about to die. Never to see my family ever again. Reality was crumbling.(I love you too, Anne.)

(Four seconds to dracon impact,) Maratonk reported, (Three, Two, One -)

_Tedahko. Erek. Anne. Animorphs. Yeerks. Aliens. Human. Anne._

"**ELLIMIST!"** I screamed.

Time froze. And I remembered. _Everything._

He appeared in front of me.

"Oh my gosh... Oh my...you killed him! He died! He...how could..?"

**Anomalies should not exist where they do not belong Anne. I warned you.**

"He died, Ellimist! Even if I hadn't of gone with him, he would have died!"

**No Anne. You are the reason that he died in the **_**temporary time line**_ **I created. You disrupted it. You are one of very few, Anne. The few that disrupt the time line they did not originate from.**

"He isn't dead?"He shook his head, using a human-like expression. It made me sick.

**No. Not dead.**

I breathed a sigh of relief. Not dead...that was good. Not dead...

The scene around me disappeared and I was back with Tedahko. Back to thinking my own thoughts and getting lost in daydream.

First of all, I knew Trevor had loved me. That...I can't describe my feeling towards that. I just can't.

But you see, there was another particular thing I was thinking about. I hadn't forgotten what sick and twisted time line the Ellimist had put me through.

Those words that flashed through my mind. Tedahko. Erek. Crystal. Kidnap.

What did they all mean? One thing was for sure though; something was falling into place.

_And I wasn't sure I liked it._

**A/N: CLIFFIE! Not a mega cliffie, but still a cliffie. Huh, spell check isn't getting rid of the word cliffie. That doesn't mean.... no! It can't be a real word! It's my word. Damnit, spell check! Damnit!**

**...I'll calm down. Any guesses about the chapters to come? **

**Please, please review. It'll make my day. And the ducks' day, too ;D  
**


	29. Baby Sitting Duty

**A/N: Chapter 29 is up! Woohoo! Uh... not much is going to happen in this chapter. Well, besides from the huge cliffie at the end. But either the next chapter, or the chapter after that is going to end in one of the biggest cliffies in the whole series ;D Look forward to it! For those who are wondered how the next chapter of the Visser Humiliation Club is coming along, I actually haven't started. But don't worry, I will! I have the perfect plot in mind! Once I write a few words on Open Office the rest will come easily.**

**Uh, what else is up... erh... Well, I submitted another story about what happens when Crayak and the Ellimist torture the Animorphs with fan girls. Its sitting on the fanfiction Animorphs page if you haven't checked it out already. Also, I've been quiet busy lately because I've been applying for scholarships to go to Japan as an exchange student in 2010. But don't worry, nothing will stop me from writing fanfiction. Even if I have to write out the chapters by hand (which would most likely give me awful handcramps) I will still do it. So don't think you have all go rid of me just yet ;D**

**Disclaimer: I own Animorphs just like I can correctly spell expecalafragilicious-expelladocious.  
**

**Credit:**

**Mimi-dudette for her efforts in beta-reading which is cookie-worthy.  
**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name. **

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee." **

Chapter 29 - Babysitting Duty

Previously on As If By Magic....

"_Hello?"_

"_Erek!" I exclaimed._

"_Jenny? What's happened?"_

"_It's Tedahko she... she..."_

"_She's what? Is she hurt? What happened?"_

"_No, not hurt... she...." I trailed off and a long silence came about._

"_She... It's the crystal, Erek. Tedahko has the crystal."_

As soon as those words escaped from my mouth, each second turned into minutes. Each minute turned into what seemed to be hours. The atmosphere turned dense and silent.

The worse thing was that silence.

I didn't want to imagine what went through Erek's head when I said that. Even being more intelligent than the most intelligent person on Earth, I don't think even I could comprehend what was going through his mind.

"Th- the crystal...?" he replied, his voice shaky, "as in... the Pemalite crystal?"

I nodded, but then remembered that he wouldn't be able to see me nod over the phone. "Yes," I said certainly, "that crystal."

He became silent once more. I genuinely felt bad for him, but there was nothing to do about that now. There was only one main priority on my list: get Tedahko out of here before a controller happens to see and recognize the crystal.

"We need to do something, Erek."

His silence continued. It wasn't because it didn't hear me. He knew damn right that something had to be done. He must have been in shock. After a good ten thousand years, human traits tend to wear off on you. I couldn't blame him for his silence, no matter how serious this situation was.

"Erek, you're obviously in no state to make a decision right now, so I'll do it for you." I slammed down the phone and ran back inside the school.

This... This was seriously _not _good. Tedahko's life was at risk here, and she was totally unaware of it. If even one controller saw that crystal and realized what it was... no. Not good.

It was as if the whole problem with Spencer was nothing now. Just another small problems in a huge world of even bigger problems.

I walked calmly down the hallway to the teacher's lounge. If anybody had seen me run faster than a cheetah down that hallway, they would have became at least a little bit suspicious. I knocked on the door.

Mr. Morrison, AKA the meanest science teacher is existence, answered. It looked like he hadn't had his coffee, because he had huge bags under his eyes.

"Yes?"

"Is Mr. Peterson here?"

Mr. Morrison sighed angrily and stalked back into the lounge.

Mr. Peterson came out a few seconds later.

"Ah, Jenny. What can I do for such a bright, young student?"

Young? I was 13,463 years old. What a suck up.

"Cork it, Dehan. He have a problem."

He narrowed his eyes, "On a scale of one to ten?"

I rolled my eyes. He always liked to use a scale thing when dealing with students. To him, one was, "Mr. Peterson, I need a band aid," and ten was "the world is about to blow up."

"Nine."

He frowned. "Follow me."

He lead me into an empty class room, looked around suspiciously, making sure nobody was there, then turned to me.

"What's happened?"

"You know Tedahko? The girl I was with earlier?"

"The one who thought you were a completely insane weirdo? Yes, I remember," he said smugly, a devious grin on his face. He was just as bad as Daniel. No wonder they were friends.

"She has the crystal."

That wiped the smile off his face.

"The crystal?" he asked, looking nervous, "As in _the_ crystal crystal?"

"Oh, nah, the amethyst," I replied sarcastically, "Of course I mean _that_ crystal! What other crystal would I be referring to? Okay, never mind... We just need to get her out of here."

Chee-Dehan nodded, "I'll hack the school records again and make it look as if you and Tedahko went home sick. Go find her and get her out of here, Jenny. I don't care what way, but just do it."

&&&

It wasn't hard finding Tedahko. After all, she was exactly in the same place I left her.

Except she looked spaced out, as if she was talking to somebody who wasn't really there.

"Tedahko?"

"Huh?! What? Oh, Jenny. Where did you go?"

"Nowhere," I replied cautiously, "Did I miss much?"

"Spencer asked me to the dance."

My expression stiffened. The guy that Erek refers to as "Jerk-face" asked her to the dance? Well there goes our plan of match making Erek and Tedahko,

Also, if I was going to tell Erek everything that happened today afterwards, then it was probably best if I left this part out. He would probably yell at me for even letting Spencer talk to Tedahko.

"Tedahko, do you mind if I talk to you? _Outside _of the cafeteria?"

She looked a little worried, "Why?"

I brought my index finger to my lips, "Surprise."

"Well...Okay."

So I lead her outside the cafeteria and into the hallway. The hallway was deserted. Everybody was too busy in the cafeteria, lining up for today's specialty. Which I think is tomato soup. Just... minus the tomatoes.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Tedahko, you like doing crazy and irrational things, right?" She shook her head.

"Well let's wag class!"

He eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "Are you crazy?!" she practically screamed.

"So, you gonna wag with me or not?"

"No way!" she exclaimed and turned on her heels.

"Well Tedahko, it just so happens you aren't getting a choice."And before she got a chance to ask, I had scooped her up in my arms.

"What the - ?"

And ran so fast that I looked like a blur down the hallway and out of the school. Tedahko screamed incoherent words all the way until I finally came to the alleyway (which was conveniently located not far from the mall) where Lourdes was living and put Tedahko down.

"You're insane!" she screamed hysterically, "who are you?! Better question; WHAT ARE YOU?!"

"I am an Andalite!" I exclaimed sarcastically.

Tedahko fainted.

Huh... so she doesn't like Andalites?

"Oh gee, you made her faint," said Lourdes, who came up from behind me.

"It isn't my fault if she doesn't like Andalites," I replied defensively. "So did Chee-Dehan tell you?"

Lourdes nodded, "Yes, he said that you might need a bit of help." She looked down at Tedahko. "But it looks

like things are mostly under control for now."

"Yeah..." I said darkly, "for now."

No sooner than I spoke did a blur come zooming around the corner of the alleyway, stopping a couple of feet away from Tedahko. Lourdes and I stood then, unphased.

"Is she okay?" Erek asked, his voice sounding panicked, "What happened?"

"She's fine," I replied, and leaned casually against the alleyway wall, "I just told her I was an Andalite and she fainted."

He didn't even snap at me, which was really surprising. Instead, Erek got down on his knees and grasped Tedahko's hand in his own. It was hard to stop myself from grinning. Lourdes was right. They _so_ did like each other.

"I'm staying here with her," Erek said quietly. It sort of amazed me how out of character he was behaving. He didn't normally act like this. Though I have to admit he can be stubborn. Then again, all guys are stubborn.

"You can't," Lourdes pointed out, "Something tells me that Spencer kid isn't the only NSA agent in town.

They're going to be watching you, Erek."

Erek didn't budge, but instead got a hollow, spaced out look in his eyes.

"We'll keep an eye on her," Lourdes reassured, as she kneeled down and put a hand on Erek's shoulder.

"I promise."

Erek nodded silently and got up. "Okay," he said with no emotion visible on his face, "See you guys later." He walked out to where the alleyway met the street, looked both ways, then projected a hologram of a car around himself and went off.

"I'm worried about him."

"Me too," Lourdes agreed, "but all we can do now is baby-sit Tedahko for a few hours. So let's start at that."

I nodded, "Good idea."

It was a bit unusual. By now, Lourdes and I should have been in some conversation about how Erek holding Tedahko's hand was incredibly cute, but instead neither of us was very eager to say anything. It was how I had seen Erek that had shut me up, and I was pretty sure that was the case with Lourdes, too.

I didn't want to think about how Erek would be feeling after discovering Tedahko had somehow came into possession of the very item he used to...you know...all those lives. It must have been awful.

"Jenny," Lourdes said, her voice breaking me out of my thoughts, "There's nothing we can do."

I nodded slowly, "I know."

Tedahko made a groaning noise and rolled over to her side .It was then that I realized something very important."The crystal!" I exclaimed, "It must still be in her school bag!"

"No problem," Lourdes said, "I'll let Chee-Dehan know so he can retrieve it. One moment." Her holograph flickered and her eyes got a spaced out look and turned a light gray color. She must have been logging onto the Chee-net.

"Done," she confirmed, after about half a minute, "he's on his way to break into her locker now."

"Okay, good." I stared over at Tedahko who rolled onto her other side and muttered something to herself.

"Maybe we should have gotten her a pillow," I suggested.

"Do you think I have one?" Lourdes asked sarcastically.

Tedahko's eyes flickered open and I jumped in view.

"Hi!" I said cheerfully.

Tedahko screamed. Loud.

I shoved my hands over her mouth.

"Shhhh!" I shooshed, "No screaming!"

"Jenny, I think you scared her," Lourdes pointed out, shaking her head and displaying a slightly amused expression.

Cautiously, I removed my hands from over her mouth.

"Lourdes!" gasped Tedahko, who was still lying on the ground, "You know this nut case?!"So Tedahko and

Lourdes actually know each other? Nobody told me that.

"Yup," she replied, "I trust you have met Jenny."

Tedahko breathed deeply then blinked.

"You're not even human, are you?" she asked, "You're a Chee. That's how you were able to run so fast.""Nah, I'm an Anda-" Lourdes slapped her hand over my mouth before could finish the sentence.

"Yes," Lourdes confirmed, "She's a Chee. A very immature one at that."

Lourdes removed her hand.

"I'm not immature!" I protested, "Chee-Ludos, Chee-Dehan and Chee-Shanos are all immature, but not me. I'm the optimistic one!"

Lourdes rolled her eyes, "Next you'll be saying Maria isn't scary."I shuddered. Because saying that would be the biggest understatement of all time.

"So," began Tedahko casually, "Why was I taken against my will to an abandoned and rather smelly alley way?"

"Hey!" Lourdes exclaimed, "This is _my _alleyway you're talking about!"

"Oops, sorry."

"You are here because..." I trailed off but then thought of the perfect thing to say, "Because Lourdes here is going on a date with Daniel and needs to by a dress. We're going to help her." Lourdes looked angry. Real angry. Maybe because that was meant to be kept a secret.

"Jenny!" she scolded angrily, and shot me a look of rage mixed with disapproval.

Lourdes had rang me last night with the news and had told me to keep it a secret. I had known she had liked Daniel for ages and ages. In fact, maybe even a good few hundred years. After all, I do have my suspicions that she was the one who sabotaged Amelia and Daniel's date.

"Okay," Tedahko said.

"Really?" I asked. Somehow it seems all too convenient. What was the possibility she would actually agree?

She nodded, "Yeah. I'll help you."

"Then it's settled then! Let's go shopping!"

Lourdes sighed.

And Tedahko looked strangely at her own hand.

&&&

_Tedahko's POV_

It seems ever since I have moved to this town strange things have been happening. Today was no different.

Everything had began off normal. Besides from some random girl named Jenny that I have never even heard of stalking me for the whole entire day. For some reason, she was in all the same classes I was and insisted in following me every where I went. I wondered if this was some higher being's way of torturing me.

So as you would of imagined, I was quite relieved when she ran off to somewhere. It was sort of weird, though. She seemed so interested in what I was saying one minute, and was dying to get out of there the next. Come to think of it, it seems she made a run for it after I showed her the crystal necklace I was making. But oh well, it was probably just a coincidence.

Whilst Jenny was gone, Spencer had asked me to the dance on Wednesday. I had said yes, of course. After all, he _was _my boyfriend. What was I meant to say? That, and it would give me a chance to have a nice, normal evening. I had grown to appreciate normality since I had moved to this town.

The strange thing was, Anne waited for five whole minutes after Spencer had left to make a comment. I ignored her comment, and asked her where she went. All she did was mutter something under her breath, then

tell me that it was none of my concern.

This is where things started to get _really _weird. And maybe a little bit scary, too. Jenny returned, and told me she had something to tell me and insisted that she told me in the hall. Not in any position to say no, I went with

her.

Before I knew it, she was asking if I wanted to wag class with her. Being caught too many times for wagging

already, I said no and turned back towards the cafeteria doors.

Jenny told me I didn't have a choice.

You know how I said things started to get really weird? Well scrap that. Because this is where things started

getting _really, really _weird.

She scooped my up in her arms and ran. _Fast. _We're talking inhumanely fast here.

All I could do was scream my head off until I got the answer, so that was exactly what I did. When she did happen to put me down, it was in some abandoned alleyway.

When I demanded to know who and what she was, she just simply replied:

"I am an Andalite!"

That was the last straw that my head could take. I fainted, only to wake up a few minutes later. Things started getting a lot clearer from there. Lourdes explained to me Jenny was a Chee. Jenny explained that the only reason she took me out of school was so I could help her pick out a dress for Lourdes's date with Daniel.

I had probably known who Daniel was before, but after a while, names get confusing. Especially when Chee go by two names. Though I'm pretty sure Daniel was the Chee who was playing Erek's father.

Huh, I didn't know Chee were allowed to date other Chee.

Anne made some smart remark when I thought that, but it isn't worth mentioning.

So anyway, despite what Jenny was telling me, I didn't believe that lunatic for a second. I don't know why. There was something that seemed a bit..._strange _about all this. The feeling was indescribable.

Also, why would Lourdes even need a dress? Couldn't she just project an image of a dress around herself?

At the moment, we were at the mall.

"Look Lourdes! Isn't this dress cute!" Jenny asked, as she held up a sparkling gold bead dress and then added it to the already humongous pile of dresses Lourdes was struggling to carry. Or at least it looked like she was struggling. From what Erek had told me, a Chee could lift a truck with ease, so the struggling was probably just an act.

Lourdes sighed to herself while Jenny happily skipped around the dress floor, determined to find all the pretty dresses.

And yet somehow I still couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than buying a dress for Lourdes.

"So Lourdes," I began, "Why are we really here?"

The good thing with Lourdes is although she isn't completely honest, she doesn't go and make up any far-fetched excuses either.

"I wish I could tell you," she said with a sigh.

"Then why won't you?"

Her expression turned serious, "You'll just have to trust me on this one."

After a while, Jenny got bored of dress shopping and we made our way to the food court.

All of a sudden, I caught the eye of two very familiar faces sitting at a nearby table.

One was Tobias. Believe it or not, we're actually related. Distantly, however. From what I know about him, he's a pretty nice guy. Though he does seem to be more of the quiet type. He's good at giving advice though. But besides that, there's really nothing else I know about him.

The other face was the whole reason I despised aliens. Or if you wanted to be more specific; Andalites. His name is Ax, but his real name is so long it makes the names given to science chemicals look puny. I just call him centaur.

Why don't I like him? Well, I'm pretty convinced that he has tried to kill me at least two times. Besides that, we really just don't get along.

Tobias spotted that I had spotted him, and made his way over along with Ax following close behind. Centaur had what could only hope could be ketchup smeared all over his face.

I heard him say to nobody as he was walking over, "that burger was full of delicious grease. Grea-suh. May I have some more? Mo-ah. Moooore?"

"Hi Tedahko. Who's this?" Tobias asked.

Lourdes frowned, "You don't recognize me?"

"Sorry."

"Remember? You and your friends saved me from those evil slime balls."

Tobias's eyes widened in realization, "Lourdes. That's it, isn't it?"

Lourdes nodded. Then all of a sudden Tobias looked a bit worried. That, or I was just imagining things.

"Hey Tobias," I greeted before adding, "Centaur."

"Nishkak."

Jenny and Lourdes looked startled for some reason I was unsure of. I looked at them expectantly.

"Sorry," Jenny apologized, "my translator chip must be screwing up." She gazed at Ax suspiciously, "It just

said that you called Tedahko a witch."

"I said it because it-tuh is true. Tru-ah. Uuu."

Jenny and Lourdes's gaze came to rest on me. I quickly and nervously made up the best excuse I could.

"Hah, isn't pony boy a joker? Sure, and I suppose fish can fly."

"Actually, according the book that Cassie bought me on earth animals, there is a species that comes rather close to-"

"That's enough Ax," Tobias said, quickly. "Anyway, we better get going."

So Tobias and the centaur left and it was back to Lourdes, Jenny and myself.

_And that's when time stopped._

**A/N: CL-CL-CLIFFIE! You will never guess what is going to happen. Well? Guess! ;D And review! Because that will make me, my pet ducks, and my mary-sue and gary-stu characters, which have never left the boundaries of my own head, very happy.**


	30. Confrontation

**A/N: Happy easter everyone! If you celebrate easter, that is. If you don't, then forget I said anything. Anywho, here's chapter 30! Only one more wait until the Ultra-super-mega-cliffie which I have been planning since ten chapters ago. That's right...the next chapter is...The Dance! ;D**

_**Disclaimer:**_** My owner's certificate got lost among the many documents I have had to fill out in the last past weeks so I can study abroad next year. That, or that blasted Conficker worm ate is. Serious everybody, if you're worried that your computer might have that virus, try accessing the Symantec website. If your computer gains access, then you don't have it. If it can't gain access...erh...**

_**Credit:**_

**Mimi-dudette for beta-reading. She is in deserving of chocolate.**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name. **

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee." **

**Chapter 30 – Confrontation**

I will never _ever_ get used to the idea of time stopping. Ever. Even though it had happened to me once before a few weeks ago when I was in Cassie's barn along with the Animorphs.

My eyes darted around nervously, trying to identify whoever had paused time. But whoever did it obviously didn't want to be seen. All I could see was a lot of different faces of shoppers, all frozen in time.

It was scary. Especially when I knew that somebody was bound to be watching me. I didn't like being watched. I preferred blending in, as then I would look a lot more normal than I really am. But when I'm

put on the spot like this... I mean, I suppose it is a bit less scary if you have somebody with you when something like this happens.

Oh yeah, I was freaked out.

"Anne?" I called out. My voice came back in an echo. Nobody replied.

Then all of a sudden...

"BOO!" I screamed and turned around at a hundred miles an hour. Somebody had sneaked up on me. Again.

When I saw who...or what said boo, I froze. It was that...that thing. The thing who was arguing with that other guy when time paused a few weeks back. The thing which I saw in my room.

"Oh, how very nice," he said sarcastically, "I am now a 'thing.' Very nice manners you have there."

Oh no! That thing (who's name seemed to escape me at the moment, even though Anne had only told me it

earlier today) could read my mind! I...I had to get out of here! I had to protect myself.

Magic! I could use magic. I tried to concentrate on the thing and make it fly to kingdom come, but my mind was all fuzzy. My concentration had gone astray, and I was way too nervous to even think about what I was actually doing.

The thing, which really just resembled some sort of giant talking prune, said, "What a useful user of magic you are. It would only take one simple form of magic to make me go flying, yet you are cracking under stress. What a pity."

I must have looked a bit a taken back. I really didn't expect it to mention anything involving magic. But since it could read my mind...

"Allow me to introduce myself," said the talking prune, and then it curtsied, "I am Drode, the loyal servant of

the wonderful and all-powerful Master Crayak."Crayak?

"_A long time ago Tedahko, there was a war. But not one on Earth, may I add. Oh no. This war was set on the boundaries of infinity by two beings. One was good the other -"_

The flashback of my mom's words was cut short.

The prune, which calls himself Drode, grinned, "Now this isn't time for imagining things, is it? Yes, totally unnecessary."

"Who are you?" I demanded, trying to sound more brave than I actually felt.

Drode slapped his hand to his prune-like forehead. "Why must I repeat myself?! Were you not listening the first time?"

I just stood there with a deadpan look on my face, only now coming to terms that it should be scientifically impossible for time to pause. And for prunes to talk, for that matter.

"Speaking of scientifically impossible, shouldn't magic also be labeled under the category?"

Damn, and I thought Anne was bad.

"I was about to say the same for walking prunes," I retorted, only to wondered if I should have just kept my mouth shut.

Drode smiled a sly grin, "Feisty, aren't you? Keep up the good work, and you might even make it to the spot of my second-favorite. Never number one though, sadly." He shook his head with fake-dismay, "Rachel will always be my number one favorite."

I blinked, completely baffled by what he just said. When I managed to recompose myself, I said, "Why are you here?"

"My master would like to offer you...a deal, if you will. Yes, a deal," Drode nodded to himself, as if he had just said something very profound.

"What...sort of deal?" I asked, curious in spite of myself.

The prune grinned, "I thought you might ask that. Today, I shall be offering a great deal, which will give you a more happy and pleasant life. A deal of wondrous possibilities, a deal of -"

"Get to the point!" I snapped. I was a little bit cranky from the fact that time itself was now paused and I had to put up with some talking prune who was going to offer me some kind of deal.

Drode looked angry, "I wouldn't say that, if I were you. All it would take is one click of my fingers and you would be gone. Poof! Just like that!"

"Then why aren't I gone?"

The prune sighed. "We live in a world of many rules, eh? Believe me, Crayak would love to get rid of you. But thanks to that meddling nitwit the Ellimist, you will stay alive," it narrowed his eyes, "For now."

A cold chill went up my spine. I don't know whether the prune caused it, or if it was just my imagination. But it wasn't a good chill. Who was this Ellimist and this Crayak he kept talking about? The names somehow hit close to home, yet I couldn't exactly remember where I had heard them.

"You said something about a deal?" I asked impatiently.

"Oh yes, yes," said Drode, "Certainly. Tell me little magic user, how would you like it if your parents never died?"

I swear my heart skipped ten beats when the talking prune said that. My...my parents? Could it... really do that? Revive them? Then... then I wouldn't have to worry about everything I'm facing now. Earth being invaded by slugs, having to cope with the fact of being the last one of my kind on earth...It could do that?

"Yes, Tedahko. One simple word and they never would have died."

The words sat there, daring me to speak them. The only thing I wanted at that moment was to be with my parents. It was like I was at their funeral all over again.

I wanted to say yes. I would have said yes. If...

"Erek," I said, "what would happen to him?"

Drode looked surprised, "The android? Why worry about him? But if you really must know, he would go on living his life exactly how he would have been. Without you here, that is."

"Without me?"

"But of course. Think about it, you silly girl. If your parents have never died, you would have never moved a few towns down the coast to live with that android."

Truth be told, I didn't want to leave Erek. I love my parents but...

"You love Erek?" asked a familiar voice.

"Anne," Drode and I both said bitterly in unison. Suddenly Anne appeared and we realized that she was the one that looked angry.

"So Drode," she said casually, "You think you can just go a-waltzin' out of our checkers game anytime you want? Damnit you prune ball, I knew you were up to something."

"Oh you're just jealous because I was winning," Drode said smugly.

"Winning? Excuse me?! You were cheating!"

Drode sighed, "All the same."

Anne stared intensively at me, a gleam of suspicion in her emerald green eyes. "What are you doing, talking to Drode anyway?"

I shrugged, "He paused time and appeared out of nowhere. That's kind of hard to ignore."

Anne didn't seem to buy it, though. She somehow knew that something was up, and she seemed determined to get to the bottom of it. She turned to face Drode, a demanding look on her face.

"What lies are you spinning this time, Drode?"

Drode gasped, as if he couldn't imagine Anne would ask such a question. "Why, nothing! All I was doing was offering little Tedahko a deal."

That was all Anne needed to hear. She clicked her fingers and Drode began doing an imitation of the wicked witch, with the whole "I'm melting" scene. Then he quickly said, "I'll be waiting for your decision later, little Tedahko."

And with that, he disappeared.

Anne turned to me once more. "You should probably explain to me what happened."

I didn't really want to. It was more of a personal thing that I just wanted to keep to myself. I didn't want her to influence my choice. But Anne has this way of getting things out of people. So in the end, I had to choice but to tell her.

"Tedahko, nothing good comes from making deals with Crayak. And especially bringing people back from the dead," Anne said sternly.

"You're dead," I pointed out.

She nodded, "Yes. But I'm not alive, am I? I suppose in some terms I still exist, but I'm no longer living. You have to trust me on this one, Tedahko."

"Why?" I asked, "Name one reason."

She sighed, "You'll just have to. A while back, Drode came to me offering me a deal to become living again."

"What did you say?"

"I said no. Tedahko, that's the thing with Crayak. No matter how good the offer may sound, there is _always _something in it for him in the long term. While I'm not too fond of the Ellimist, he asked me to stay put. So I have no choice but to comply. But if I had gone...I can't help but wonder if I would have screwed something up."

I narrowed my eyes, "Screw what up? Wait, you're not talking about that timeline thingy, are you?"

"Afraid I am," she made a bitter smile. "There's something else I need to tell you, too."

How come it always seems to be those words which start of disaster? Sometimes I can't help but wonder...

"Pieces of reality... they've been shifting. I'm not sure what has been going on, but this time line has been acting strange. But one things for sure, you have to think _really carefully _about decisions you make from now on."

I snorted, trying to muffle my laugh, "Like don't upset the balance or the whole world might explode?"

She gazed away and said quietly, "I'm not sure." I silently scolded myself for jinxing the explosion of the world.

She smiled, "But you _like_ like Erek, so I don't think you would say yes anyway."

"I don't _like_ like him!" I lied. Wait... that isn't a lie! Wait...oh. Damn.

Anne laughed, which was actually sort of refreshing after the atmosphere we had hanging around a few seconds earlier. "Well, you have fun. I'm off to finish my checkers game with Drode."

"Checkers?" I asked, "You play checkers with that prune ball?"

"What prune ball?" asked Jenny, who was standing right beside me.

&&&

My name is Lourdes.

I probably look as human as any other homeless person does. Well, turns out I'm currently homeless but I'm not so much human. The human part – it's all an act. It turns out I'm pretty good at acting, too. In fact, I was very famous in my last life. Since I got so much attention, all the other Chee got pretty jealous.

But that stuff probably isn't very important at the moment. Jenny had taken me out. Shopping. For a dress. It was probably the most pointless occasion in the world. I didn't need to buy a dress. I could project the most expensive dress money could buy around myself and be done with it.

"Checkers?" Tedahko asked seemingly into thin air once Tobias and Ax had left, "You play checkers with that prune ball?"

"What prune ball?" asked Jenny curiously, "I don't see any. Unless Maria is here."

Jenny was one of the most unusual Chee around. She normally had this whole, "in control and responsible" thing going on. Also, being a bit too cocky, she considered herself optimistic. But overall, she was normally this very smart and calm person. Though unfortunately, once she had gotten a taste of crazy behavior, there would be no stopping the rampage that was set to come. Long story short, Jenny had kidnapped Tedahko and made her faint.

Tedahko...now she's a different story. She is a really weird girl. One time, I spotted her dumpster diving when she should have been in class. Also, according to Erek, she has this habit of talking to herself. Besides from all this, both Jenny and I have our suspicions that Erek and Tedahko like each other. And Jenny and I were going to do everything we can in order to match-make them.

I'll be honest with you. Chee-Human relationships in the past; the results have been disastrous. You should just look and see what happened with Daniel and Amelia. But you know, personally I never liked Amelia anyway.

Like I was saying: disastrous. The "Chee should never interfere with human affairs" rule is certainly there for a reason. But I guess the problem is, after all these years the Chee on spent on earth, some of my race just get too caught up in many emotional traits they have picked up from humans. It is something that has happened over a long period of time, and is sadly unavoidable.

Actually, nobody really discussed the whole matter of Chee-Human dating until after a certain incident in the early 1700s. I'm not going to mention any names or what happened back then. But let's just say after that incident, the topic became the center of a debate. In the end, somebody decided that it would just be better if Chee didn't get to attached to humans and just stayed away from dating in general. Of course, this never stopped everybody.

It was after the shopping trip, and I was sitting in the living room of Erek and Daniel's house, waiting for Erek to arrive back. I was really glad that Daniel wasn't there. Don't get me wrong...I like Daniel. In fact, I really,

really like him. But I was relieved that I wouldn't have to see him until our date.

Chee dating other Chee is an incident in itself. Of course, you get some of our race which are dead-seat against it. But the majority actually don't see a problem with it. You see, all Chee are programmed so that their traits can be influenced over time by the events that go on around them. Pretty much like humans, actually. If a human has a bad experience in their childhood, it could possibly go on and haunt them for the rest of their life. It's like how there's a reason behind Jenny cockiness and Erek's generally kind, yet sometimes quiet and withdrawn attitude. The answers all lie in history and the events that unfolded around them.

Jenny had once served as a servant of a powerful Chinese emperor. None of the servants were really treated with what Jenny calls "common courtesy." So she decided to take matters into her own hands, and stole certain valuable objects from the palace. Of course, she never got caught doing it. She had had some pretty close calls though. Not many Chee know about this, but a group of servant girls actually found out Jenny wasn't human.

What was her excuse? "I'm a spirit!"

The servant girls were amazed. But Jenny didn't stay for long, just in case somebody dobbed. So she stole one of the emperor's prized horses and made off like the wind. Getting away with all these things, she began to brag to all the other Chee. Not that the other Chee really cared. Eventually, Jenny's smugness and cockiness was permanent.

The reason behind Erek's traits are very, very different. It happened a long time ago. And by long I'm talking years. Thousands. It isn't really my place to say what happened with Erek. But let me assure you, the memory of what happened back all those years ago stuck with him. He never acted like anything was wrong. All he seemed to do was just put up with it and live life day by day. Though, recent incidents including the one involving the Pemalite crystal might be making the memories arise again. You could never be sure.

Suddenly, I heard the creaking of the front door open. Speaking of Erek...

He walked into the hallway, and looked rather startled once he realized I was there.

"Erh Lourdes... What are you doing here?"

"I've come in the place of Jenny."

"Really? Where is she?"

"With Tedahko," I replied, "Now that Jenny has found a new shopping buddy, she's never gonna let her go."

Erek unpacked the groceries he had bought (which included Doritos and Mountain Dew) and walked back into the living room.

"So what's the news?" he asked casually.

"Well," I said, "According to Jenny, the whole baby-sitting thing was pretty successful."

"And...and the crystal?"

I shrugged, "Jenny told me Chee-Dehan took care of it."

"Okay," Erek breathed a sigh of relief, "Nothing to worry about. Good."

"Yup."

Erek seemed a lot more calm now. Meaning this was a good time to ask him a certain question.

"Erek?"

"Yeah?" he replied, probably wondering why I hadn't left already. I actually had a fair reason to why I hadn't left. It's called living in an alleyway. Although Erek's house wasn't a mansion, it did have a leather couch which I was rather fond of.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice from your school website that your school dance is Wednesday night."

Erek narrowed his eyes, "What are you getting at?"

I grinned, "Oh, nothing. I just thought it would be really cute and awesome if you took Tedahko as your date."

If Erek was drinking water at that moment, he probably would have spat it out.

"Date? Tedahko?! Uh...err...no! I can't! After all... I don't even...feel that way about her," I saw a hesitant look flash across his face, "And...and she has a boyfriend. They're probably going. You should really spend less time around Jenny. She's making you suggest crazy and insane ideas."

I pouted, another one of the things I may have picked up from hanging around Jenny. "But Erek," I said sweetly, "You and Tedahko will look really cute together."

"That isn't the point..." Erek muttered, "The point is, that she has a boyfriend, and I shouldn't be interfering. In fact, you and Jenny shouldn't be either."

I shrugged, "Somebody has to do it. Besides, Spencer hasn't even asked Tedahko yet. That, and you have to tell her eventually, or it will be too late and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Erek looked away, "Don't say that."

"I'm not Jenny," I admitted, "I'm not going to force your hand. I'm just saying, you should consider it."

I made a dramatic exit scene there. Personally, I think I did quite well.

When I arrived back at my alleyway, I decided to log onto the Chee-net so I could brag to Jenny on how Erek

might ask Tedahko to the dance thanks to me.

**Welcome to Chee-net Chat room! Let's all have a happy day and not use hurtful language in the room. Thank you!**

**Chee-Teraak: Hey Jenny, guess what I did.**

**Chee-Lantos: Hmm, what?**

**Chee-Terakk: Well, thanks to me, Erek MIGHT be asking Tedahko to the dance.**

**Chee-Lantos: WHAT?!**

**Chee-Terakk: Awesome, huh? They make such a cute couple.**

**Chee-Lantos: LOURDES!**

**Chee-Terakk: Yeah?**

**Chee-Lantos: You idiot! Spencer already asked Tedahko!**

**Chee-Terakk: ...**

**Chee-Lantos: ...**

**Chee-Terakk: Crap.**

_**Chee-Dehan has entered the room.**_

**Chee-Dehan: Hello ladies!**

**Chee-Lantos: Now isn't a very good time...**

**Chee-Terakk: Agreed. So why are you here?**

**Chee-Dehan: I actually have some bad news.**

**Chee-Lantos: Oh, how wonderful.**

**Chee-Dehan: ...**

**Chee-Lantos: That was sarcasm.**

**Chee-Dehan. Yeah...okay. Well anyway... the Pemalite crystal? Not in Tedahko's locker.**

**A/N: Say it with me, CL-CL-CLIFFIE! Not mega cliffie. But still a cliffie. And yes, EVERY chapter I write MUST end in one ;D Please review everybody! I genuinely appreciate the feedback and constructive criticism. Even if you haven't reviewed for the past twenty-something chapters, I would still appreciate it! ;D **

**The next chapter is going to end in a SUPER-MEGA-ULTRA CLIFFIE! Any guesses?**


	31. The Dance

**A/N: And now, is the chapter you've all been waiting for...The Dance! It ends with a mega-ultra-killer cliffie. It had a Spencer's POV. Heck, it even introduces a mysterious, new character. So anywho, I hope you all like it! ;D**

**CREDIT:**

**Mimi-dudette for beta-reading. She shall have cookies thrown at her instead of cabbages ;D**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name. **

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee." **

**  
DISCLAIMER: **

**My tiredness consumed my disclaimer whole. Goodnight.**

_The Dance_

(Tedahko's POV)

Jenny. The name of the annoying android who had dragged me around the mall all afternoon. Lourdes had managed to make a run for it earlier on. It was certainly not fun.

But like all good things don't last forever, all bad things don't last forever, either. Jenny suddenly spaced out then said she needed to go. It was strange. One minute she was blabbing on about what shops we should visit next, the next minute she couldn't wait to get out of there.

I wonder what changed her mind...

_Something certainly did,_muttered Anne, _But since she isn't biological, I can't read her mind._

_You can read other minds besides mine?_ I demanded.

_Some. Not all. I can't read Spencer's._

I sighed and made the long journey home.

When I got home, Erek and Mr. King were sitting on the couch, having a weird conversation.

"So I told him the joke about the android who walked into a bar, and he DIDN'T EVEN LAUGH!" Mr. King complained.

"Gee," muttered Erek, "I wonder why."

"You have to believe me Erek, there is something wrong with my new co-worker. He does not smile at all. Didn't even crack a grin. His daughter seems normal enough, though. She came in to deliver his lunch.""You don't say..." muttered Erek again. It didn't really sound like he was listening.

"I'm just saying, it would be nice if my son bought me lunch when I'm at work every now and again."

"I thought you were talking about that joke."

"Well, yeah but -"

It was at this moment that they finally noticed I was in the room, giving them both a really blank look.

"Oh, Tedahko," Mr. King said before shooting Erek a look I was not certain on the meaning of. "I'll leave you two alone." He then walked out of the room, leaving Erek and I in an awkward silence.

I hate awkward silences.

"Hi," I said.

"Uh... yo," Erek said nervously.

I frowned, "I never imagined you as the "Yo" type."

Erek laughed, "Me neither." Back with the awkward silence.

"So...how was your day helping the Animorphs?" I asked.

"Huh what? Oh... Yeah, it was fine."

"Good."

"Yeah..."

The awkward silence was about to pursue again, but Erek beat it.

"I've been meaning to asking you..." he began, looking very, very nervous. He stopped mid sentence. What was so scary to ask me that Erek had to stop mid sentence for?

I felt Anne grin.

_Do you know what he's about to ask?_

_Nope. Like I said before, I can't read his mind. _

_Then why are you so happy?_

Anne didn't reply.

"Go on," I persuaded Erek, now very curious as to what he had to say.

"Um...well...the dance is coming up. And I was wondering, if you're not going with anybody already, if you would like to go with me....As friends, I mean."

...

My mind was blank for a whole five seconds. The shock was too much to bare and I felt like my mind was just going to shut down. Luckily it didn't but...Oh my gosh. I can't believe Erek just did that. Does he...does he really like me? Anne sighed with exasperation; Told you so.

_But...he said just as friends, I pointed out, I don't think he like likes me..._

Anne made a pttf noise,_ All guys say that, Tedahko. Of course he like likes you! And you like like him too!_

I wanted to say yes. I didn't care if Anne read my mind and saw that I did. Honestly, I wanted to yes. But...Spencer. I couldn't just go back on my word...

_What do you think I've been trying to tell you for the last week?!_ Anne snapped suddenly, and began lecturing me in a very harsh and angry tone,_ You're using Spencer as a cover-up. You don't really like him! Tedahko, there is nothing wrong with liking somebody that isn't human. The only thing you are doing here is making matters worse by denying it. This will come back and bite you later, I swear on it. All you're even doing is hurting three different people! Spencer, Erek and yourself._

I was silent and had nothing to say. Anne had seen right through me, and every word she had spoken, I knew it was the truth. But still, I felt as if there was no way to fix everything.

Anne sighed._ Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. It's just...it's been a long day. The tone of her voice was a lot more gentle now. Calm even. I understand what you're doing. But I don't understand why you are doing it._

It was then that I realized that I had totally spaced out on Erek. I swore to myself.

"You're already going with Spencer, aren't you?" Erek asked.

Here it is, Tedahko, I thought to myself bitterly. It all came down to one single word. I had two choices. I agree to go to the dance with Erek, an android, Wednesday night, and break up with Spencer tomorrow. Or...or I could go with Spencer, your everyday normal human.

_Oh, for God sakes!_ Anne whined, _You and blasted normality! _

I wanted to say yes. I wanted to...

"I...I am...sorry," I muttered.

I couldn't read the expression on Erek's face. He probably hated me now. Did he hate me? Well, I guess it doesn't matter any more...

"Don't worry. It was just a thought anyway." He then walked off to go about his own things.

Once he was gone, Anne spoke up. With a bitter voice, she said, _You are such a fool._

And after that, she fell quiet.

&&&

My name is Spencer.

Growing up, I never really had many friends. You see, I'm a prodigy. I finished high school by the time I was 12. Soon after, I was offered a spot as a trainee in a special sector of the National Security Agency. The part that deals with what they call "Alien and Paranormal threats."

Personally, I thought it was a waste of time. I would have rather been put in a section like my uncle or my father, who were both put into more exciting sections. After all, I never did believe in aliens.

But still, here I was. Sent to a town to investigate "alien sightings." How exciting. How adventurous.

The cherry on top of this little scenario was my slightly bossy supervisor, Agent June. Her first name is Alicia. But whenever I call her by her first name, she chucks a fit and threatens to tell Agent Myers. I'm not entirely sure how she managed to get in to the NSA. Frankly, I'm not even sure if she's a prodigy. She seems to keep to herself most of the time. There are a few rumors floating around, though. One was that she apparently was "abducted" by aliens. I didn't buy that one. She seemed sane enough, to me.

Then there was Agent Myers. The commander of the NSA section for "Alien and Paranormal threats." People say that he's a nut case. I don't blame them. Before he sent off Agent June and I to this town to investigate pointless alien sightings which were probably nothing but hot air balloons, he gave us a lecture about how there was life on other planets. Yeah, right. Besides that, he really seems like a serious sort of man. Each time we ring him up he always says sternly, "report!" like he's some kind of military captain.

Lately, we haven't been ringing him. I'm not sure why. We've actually made a lot of progress. Agent June doesn't think it's a good idea, though. As much as I would like to argue, I probably shouldn't. She is, after all, my supervisor and all I am is a trainee.

Now let's move right along to something that makes me wonder if I am actually wrong and aliens and paranormal junk really do exist after all.

Erek.

From using a life-form scanning device, I could tell he wasn't human. In fact, he wasn't even a breathing, living creature. That left only two possibilities. He was either a spirit (which I highly doubted so) or something else...

Alicia requested to Agent Myers for a pair of binoculars which were capable of seeing at a different frequency that the average human eye sees at. In this case, the binoculars would allow you to see through things such a holograms.

What Alicia found was rather interesting. She told me that I was right, and that this Erek kid wasn't human. I remember asking her what he was. "Android," she replied, as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

Yeah. It gets weirder. From what Alicia told me, if all I said about Erek was true, then Erek wasn't human-built. June said that humans just simply aren't that technologically advanced.

That left two more options out in the open. Erek either built himself, or he was built by some other race. As in aliens. And as much as I hate to say it, I'll place my money on the second one.

There is a lot of danger tied into this, too. While Erek may appear harmless, looks can be deceiving. There are innocent lives involved here. Particularly Tedahko's, who is Erek's best friend. June said she highly doubts Tedahko knows anything. She interviewed her, and she passed a lie detector test. Meaning that obviously she's just an innocent bystander in all of this.

June and I, we had come up with a plan. It was risky, perhaps even a bit ruthless. Normally, it would involve something I'm against. But when people's lives are involved, we have to take action.

I never had many friends growing up. But at least now I can protect the ones I do have.

&&&

(Erek's POV)

It was Wednesday – the day of the dance. Yet another day that I just couldn't be bothered going to school. But my biggest concern was no longer Spencer, but more about avoiding Tedahko, so I didn't make myself look like an idiot any more than necessary.

I was watching television, when the door that lead to the basement opened with a squeak. "Erek?" asked a voice.

I didn't reply. I was angry at her for lying to me. And now here she was, probably trying to make amends. Well too, bad. The damage was already done.

Though she could see I was obviously not interested in talking to her, she walked over to where I was sitting anyway.

I know it's probably not going to make any difference," she said, "but I honestly didn't know."

I sighed. "Lourdes, I don't care. It...doesn't matter anyway..."

"Yes it does," she said determinedly, "I should have got my facts straight."

I didn't hate her. The Pemalites had always taught us that hatred was unnecessary, and life was too wonderful to spend it hating someone. Sometimes I wished things were still like that.

"Like I said...it doesn't matter. It was stupid of me to ask her."

"Not it wasn't!" Lourdes protested, "I though it was beautiful, and cute and..." Lourdes stopped talking mid sentence when she realized that probably wasn't the best thing to talk about.

"How about we go for a walk?" Lourdes suggested after a few moments of awkward silence.

&&&

"So, how was the date with my "father"?" I asked Lourdes as we continued walking to the park.

Lourdes looked uncomfortable. "Uh...good. Besides from the fact that Maria ended up going to the same restaurant the same night and watched us like a hawk."

I shuddered. That was bad.

"So, anything interesting happening lately?" I asked, deciding to change the subject for Lourdes's sake.

She shrugged. "Not much, really. It was completely quiet yesterday. It was nice. But somehow I'm getting the feeling that things will start off all quiet then work their way up to something awful and dramatic."

I laughed. "You should really stop hanging around Jenny."

It was then that I saw her. She was sitting on a park bench, reading a book which appeared to be in a language other than English. She had long, jet black hair and dark brown eyes. There was a look about her. I don't really know what it was, but there was just this feeling I got about her. It was hard to describe. I mean, she looked like she might have been popular or something. But there was something very strange about her. Whatever it was, I couldn't seem to put my finger on it.

I continued staring at her. Her eyes looked hollow and emotionless as she was lost in her own world, deep in whatever book she was reading. And that was when I had the best idea I have had all day. I began walking towards the girl on the park bench.

"Erek, wait!" Lourdes called out, catching on to my plan only a second after I began to act on in. She grabbed my arm, but had to let go when I continued walking, due to the non-violence programming. Lourdes sighed and stood there, doing nothing to stop me. Mainly because she couldn't do anything, anyway.

"Hi," I said to the girl as I approached her.

"Hello," she replied, not seeming very interested. Her voice showed no expression what-so-ever when she greeted me. Her eyes didn't even rise to look at me.

"Uh, I know this may seem out of nowhere...but can you do a favor for me?" I asked.

Once again, the girl showed no visible emotion at all. It was actually a little bit scary.

"Depends," she said, "What kind of favor?"

"Erh...well, I was wondering if you would like to go to my school dance with me."

"So you can make the girl you like jealous?" she asked.

My jaw dropped open. I had really, really not expected her to say that.

"Uh, how did you -"

"A guess," she said and smiled sweetly. It somehow looked out of place on her stiff, emotionless face. "Why else would you come up to a random girl you know and ask such a question?"

"Uh...well..."

"I'm Lena."

"Erek," I said.

The girl finally looked up from her book. But when she looked at me, for a brief moment, I saw her eyes widen, a look of suspicion and curiosity portrayed in them. Then it was gone.

"So," I asked, "Will you do it?"

She shrugged, "What else is there better to do in this town?"

I gave Lena the address of my school and the time she would need to meet me at the school dance. Then I began walking back home.

"Are you some sort of idiot?!" Lourdes demanded, looking furious, "Using another girl to make Tedahko jealous! Erek, I didn't even know you could sink to such lows!"

"Chill out Lourdes," I said calmly, "It's not like I'm breaking the law or anything. Besides, Tedahko is bringing someone to the dance, so why can't -"

"Oh jeez," Lourdes cut in with an incredibly loud sigh, "Jenny was right. All guys around here are complete morons. If Tedahko jumped off a cliff, would you do it?"

Everything went quiet.

"...Erek?" she asked.

Comeback, Erek, comeback. Think...

I grinned madly, "cliff jumping is fun."

"Moron," Lourdes confirmed.

&&&

(Tedahko's POV)

The dance. It was just a dance. I shouldn't been feeling worried about it. Or regretful. But I was. As I stood outside the gym with Spencer, waiting for one of the teachers to open the door, I felt regret. I'm...not entirely sure what about though...

"Hey Teh?"

Just a dance. Just a dance. Just a dance...Yes, that was all it was. Just food. And music. And dancing...oh crap. I just remembered that I can't dance...

"Teh?!"

"Huh what?!" yelped, snapping out of my daydreaming.

Spencer looked at me, a concerned expression on his face. "Are you okay? You've hardly said a word since we've got here."

"Oh. I'm fine," I lied.

"Well, okay. If you say so. But you know if there was anything, or anyone bothering you, you can always talk to me about it."

"I know," I lied again. Anyone? I thought randomly to myself, Who would be bothering me? Well, it could have been Marco. He was a major pain in the but. I probably wasn't the only girl he had bothered, either. I have seen Marco countless numbers of times chasing after girls. Unfortunately for Marco, none of the girls really felt the same way.

The way he said that though...that was what was bothering me.

It was then that Erek showed up.

With a girl.

She had long, black hair cut in a fringe and dark brown eyes and resembled what looked like one of those models from magazines. She was wearing what looked like a very expensive blue silk dress.

With Erek? Wait, did that mean Erek didn't like me? That girl, who did she think she was!? Going the dance to Erek! Oh that bit-

_Irony, _Anne interrupted and burst out laughing, _It's a strange thing, huh?_

_Shut up!_ I protested, _This isn't funny!_

Anne giggled childishly. It sounded very out of place for her, especially with her strong Irish accent.

_You should have seen it coming, Tedahko. Never know what you have until it's gone, they always say._

A few minutes later one of the teachers came out to unlock the doors to the gym, and everybody and their dates hurried in.

The hall was decorated appropriately for a dance. Colored streamers hung from the ceiling, balloons scattered across the floor. A buffet was sitting on the side of the room, already attracting the people who were unable to get a date. The DJ was hurrying away, setting up his equipment. Finally, the DJ was ready, and began putting on random song, most of them being corny love songs.

"So..." said Spencer, "Want to dance?"

What should I say? No, I can't dance with you Spencer, because according to a voice in my head -

_Hey!_Interrupted Anne,_ I have a name, you know!_

-as I was saying, according to a voice in my head I like like my best friend who just happens to be an android, who also allies with a group of kids who can turn into animals and are fighting an alien invasion. Yeah. That would totally go down well.

"Sure," I said. So we danced. Only it wasn't like one of the movies where the people dancing had a cheesy kissing scene towards the end of the song. I was kind of grateful, actually.

Over Spencer's shoulder I could see that a lot of the dates where dancing together, too. Including Erek and that jerk-face of a girl...

_Irony,_ said Anne again randomly, and sighed wistfully to herself.

Did he...really like her more than me? I mean...she was pretty. She looked like one of those models from a magazine. So did that mean that I wasn't pretty enough, or...what?

The music stopped and everybody stopped dancing. Erek and the girl approached us. I didn't even have any time to bail from it. I didn't want to see Erek and his so-called new "girlfriend." Would she be his girlfriend, now that they went to the dance together? I wasn't sure. But I was certainly not keen on finding out.

"Hi Erek!" Spencer said cheerfully as Erek approached. For a second I saw a look of annoyance on Erek's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Ah, said Anne, a sense of recognition in her voice, _So that's what he's doing._

_What is he doing?! _

"Lena, this is Spencer," Erek said, gesturing to Spencer. He then gestured to me. "And Tedahko."

I was not pleased to meet her.

"Tedahko," Lena repeated thoughtfully. I suddenly got a really strange vibe off her. I don't know what is was. But there was something about her that just seemed...off.

"...Interesting name."

Interesting? INTERESTING?! Did she just sarcastically say my name is interesting?! How dare she!"Uh...thanks..." I replied, trying to stop the urge to send her flying through the ceiling. Sometimes I forget that I'm the last user of magic on earth.

_What is he doing? _I demanded to Anne again.

Anne sighed, Try and figure it out. It isn't really that hard.

I spent a few seconds trying to figure out what Erek was doing. But failed miserably.

"Well," said Lena, "We should probably get back to dancing. Come on Erek." And like that, she dragged him off.

I was furious. I was bottling over with rage. She thinks she can just drag Erek, my Erek, off like that?!

Anne giggled._ You said "my."_

Suddenly, Spencer's cell phone beeped. He took it out of his pocket and looked at whatever text message he had received, before looking at me.

"Tedahko, I am really, really sorry," he apologized, "but I have go home. An emergency has came up. I would really like to stay, but -"

"No, that's okay," I interrupted.

Great. Damn well great. I was now getting ditched by my boyfriend. What a lovely, wonderful day this has been.

"Okay," Spencer replied, "I'm really sorry. I'll make this up to you, promise." I watched as he ran through the crowds of people and out the doors to the gym.

And here I was now - alone and without a date.

I made my way over to the "desperate and dateless" wall. The wall where everybody who had no date, or had either had a date but was ditched, was hanging out.

I leaned against the wall, and scooped and the room. Disco lights were flashing everywhere, people dancing. The smell of hot dogs and junk food was piercing the air. Erek and what's-her-face was still dancing. Cassie and Jake were dancing. Rachel and Tobias...it seemed everybody was happy, except for me.

"Hey beautiful, what's up?"

...And Marco.

"What's with dances, anyway?" I asked no-one. "They're really not so great.""Looks like somebody got ditched by their date," Marco mocked, and grinned, "You know, since I'm single, and you're single..."

"No."

"But -"

"When hell freezes."

Marco frowned. "Oh well, better luck next year,." He leaned against the wall next to me, and also looked out at the wide gym.

"Jake and Cassie, and Rachel and Tobias," I said, "What's up with them? I've never noticed they were that close."

Marco shrugged, "War does that to you. You move closer to the people you were closest to begin with."

"Then how come you never moved close to anyone?" I asked mockingly.

Marco grinned, "Oh, I will be. Just you wait."

He fell silent and looked back out towards the gymnasium towards where the couples were dancing.

"We had a really big mission the other day," he said quietly, "We all barely made it out alive. At the end of the day, I think that's what brought them closer together."

"Yeah," I muttered, "Guess so."

I looked out at Rachel and Tobias. Rachel had her head on his shoulder, and they swayed gently back and force to the melody of the song.

And for once, I wondered what it would be like. To be in love with someone and stuck in a war that you never even wanted to be a part of. I had it easy. All I had to do was ask Erek to the dance. But I was weak. I couldn't even manage that. While they...they had to look death in the face each day. They were remarkable. It was like being jealous, and then again not, of them at the same time. I wanted what they had, yet I didn't want a different thing that came with that.

I stopped my musings before I confused myself with a bunch of psychological crap.

Yet another song ended and the couples separated. I saw Lena lean close to Erek's ear.

Don't you dare kiss him! I thought in spite. If you do, I'll...

Lena didn't kiss him. Instead, she whispered something then leaned away. Erek nodded.

And turned right for me.

I froze. I saw Marco grin from the corner of my eye.

"Shut...up..." I muttered under my breath.

"Teh," Erek said when he approached me. He looked probably more nervous than I did. "I was just wondering, erh, if you would like to dance."

Before the words came out of my mouth, I had already devised a witty excuse. I sucked at dancing. Full stop.

…

Wait...did he just ask me to dance?! As in me?! Not Lena. I saw Lena from over Erek's shoulder. She smiled at me and winked.

Spooky...

_Say yes, you idiot!_ Anne demanded.

_But -_

_Did I mention that I have over thirty different Gaelic songs?_

"Yes!" I blurted out, perhaps a little too loudly. Everyone within eight feet away from me turned to stare. But pretty soon they really nothing excited was going on, and went on with whatever they were doing.

"I mean...yes. Sure."

For once in what seems like ages, I saw Erek smile at me. He had a really cute smile...

Did I just really think that?

Oh gosh.

I saw Anne appeared besides Erek. Obviously, nobody would have been able to see her except for me. Anne looked happy.

_I'm proud of you, Tedahko,_ she said, and smiled. _You may have finally learned that in a world of aliens, androids and higher beings, you should throw away any sense of normality that you ever knew._

Erek and I walked towards the center of the room.

And then, for the first time, we danced.

&&&

You know how there are some memories you have which just never seem to go away? Which just sits in your mind like a kind of scrap book, waiting to be opened? That's what this memory was like. Except, it was a good memory. A very good memory.

When it was over, I would have given a hundred bucks just to dance with him again. The strangely soothing noise of the corny love song, my head on his shoulder...

I laughed to myself, attracting a stare of a girl who walked passed be and around the corner of the school. So, did this mean I really did like like him? Had Anne been right all along? I had to ask myself.

After I had danced with Erek, I told him I had to go home early. I wasn't upset or anything. I just wanted to know what it felt like to walk home, musing to myself about how I danced with my best friend.

_I danced with Erek._

The sentence seemed so foreign and weird to me. I laughed to myself again and stared up at the sky.

The stars had come out, and the moon was half-covered by a misty-white cloud. So beautiful, so calm...

"Teh?"

I jumped around at a hundred miles an hour. Like I have probably mentioned previously, I do really not appreciate being sneaked up on.

Standing behind me was Spencer.

Oh my gosh...had he...had he seen me? Erek and I dancing? I instantly felt a pang of regret. Even if I had finally admitted that I had feelings for Erek, I didn't want to end it with Spencer like this.

"Spencer?"

Spencer sighed, "I'm sorry Teh. But this is for your own good."

And the next thing I knew, _everything went black._

**A/N: Let's all say it together, "CLI-CLI-CLIFFIE!" ;D This chapter is one of the most major ones in the whole series. The next one will be pretty action-packed, too. What happened to Tedahko? What was Spencer and Alicia's so-called plan? Who is this mysterious Lena girl? All will be revealed...soon ;D Please review, and let me know what you thought of the chapter!**


	32. Missing

**A/N: At long last, it is Chapter 32. The super-ultra-cliffie ending chapter! As voodooqueen126 has said, I do need to give Spencer's character a lot more work. I acknowledge that. But considering the plot line and the situation Spencer is in in the story, it might be easier said than done. But nonetheless, I'm still going to try.**

**  
I'm still having a great time writing this series, but I have came face-to-face with a cold, hard fact of the FF world a while ago – all fanfics _should _end eventually. There are some that just simply are left unattended for eternity. I am going to make sure that As If By Magic doesn't become one of them. Its the longest running fic I've ever had, and I look back at the really early chapters and are wowed by how much I have improved over the past...wow, its coming close to a year since I've published As If By Magic. And to think I still have readers after all this time? Good grief. **

**So anyway, I decided awhile back that I would give my this fic a little dignity, and give it a proper ending. So stayed tuned everyone (I hate that saying...), because there is only 10-15 more chapters left!**

_**Credit:**_

**Mimi-dudette for beta-reading. I'm running out of cake-like rewards to throw at her. Any suggestions?**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name. **

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee." **

_**Disclaimer:**_ See previous chapters. My creativity is disappearing!!! D;

_Missing_

(Anne's POV)

"What the -" I looked around, puzzled.

Drode grinned a sly grin and paced back and forth on the Z-Space floor. Not that Z-Space has a floor. It was more like he was just walking around on air.

Though Z-Space doesn't have air either...just forget it.

"Tedahko," I stated, "I lost connection with her." I already knew. And Drode probably did too. But I just needed to say it.

"Is that so?" Drode asked.

I stared at him.

Waving his claws back and forth he said, "Don't look at me, Anne the Dead."

"You know something."

"So what if I do?"

"You're going to tell me."

"No chance, Blondie."

"I'll sing."

"NO!" Drode burst out, "In the name of my glorious Master Crayak, please don't sing! Earth music atrocious."

I smirked. Drode had worse tolerance for Gaelic Music (or in this case, Earth music in general) than Tedahko did. It was a good thing to use to my advantage.

"The wonderful and all powerful Master Crayak and that meddling dimwit, the Ellimist, have a bet."

A bet, huh? Now _why _didn't that surprise me? It seemed that everything bad that happens in life was always linked to that stupid game they play.

"What sort of bet?" I asked curiously. There was no harm in asking.

"How am I meant to know?!" Drode snapped, but then sighed. "Use your brain, woman. You and I, we're nothing but unappreciated sidekicks."

"Sidekick!?" I burst out, "I'm no sidekick! The only reason I'm doing this is -"Drode cut me off by mimicking my voice flawlessly. Somehow. Who knows how he does it. " - so that I can re-unite with my Andalite lover which I named Trevor, who is also equally as stupid and sappy and has recently returned to Earth to search for me. Oh, and did I mention that -"

"He's on Earth?!" I demanded. But...I thought that...I mean, I knew he wasn't dead. But he came back for me? The words hit me like a bug against a car windscreen.

"_Like Altair and Vega, Anne. I will find you."_

Altair and Vega...Gee, I wish I knew what that story was about. If only I had read it when I was still alive. Saying that he would find me, though...he was serious?

Drode grinned hideously and cruelly. "Oh, didn't that goody two-shoes tell you?"

"No," I replied dryly.

"Hm. Well, I suppose you were bound to find out sooner or later. But just wait until you find out the android's terrible little secret...."

I could have replied, "What secret?" and given Drode the satisfaction of my curiosity. But I suppose at

the end of the day, some rocks are just meant to be left unturned. And anyway, I didn't want to give Drode the satisfaction.

Besides, I should be focusing on Tedahko. After I had found out where she had wandered to, then I would figure out what I should do about Trevor.

Tedahko...Tedahko...Let's see...

She randomly faints, is incredibly clumsy and naive, can shape-shift into a crow...If I was her, where would have I gone after the dance? Knowing her, since she had just danced with Erek, she probably would have gone somewhere to ponder to herself about the experience. Somewhere quiet. Library? Too late. Park? Tedahko wasn't stupid. All sorts of awful people hang around parks at night. She might have been able to fend herself. That is, if she didn't keep on forgetting that she was the last user of magic all the time.

The whole ordeal was like trying to solve a damn Rubiks cube.

And I hated Rubiks cubes.

Trevor had solved a Rubiks cube, once – in under half a minute. I hadn't had such luck _or_ skill.

Drat.

Drat, drat, drat, drat, drat.

As hard as I tried, I just couldn't focus on Tedahko. I was genuinely concerned for her safety (though in the likeliest event she probably just randomly passed out in an alleyway) but my mind kept on wondering back to Trevor.

Trevor, who was searching for _me._

But Tedahko was possibly in danger. I would need to do something about that first.

&&&

_(Erek's POV)_

"Tedahko," I said, "She never came home last night."

It was before school, and I was talking to Jake and Marco near the basketball courts. As I had just said, Tedahko never came home last night. And I was starting to get really worried.

Jake frowned. "Don't take this the wrong way, Erek, but the last time she disappeared was when you two were fighting. Are you currently fighting?"

"We weren't fighting!" I protested, "We just, erh, disagreed."

"Jake, dude," Marco said, "I don't that's it. Tedahko and Erek weren't fighting last night." He then grinned. "If you weren't too occupied making googly eyes at Cassie, then you would have noticed they were dancing together."

"They were?" Jake asked, his face looking rather blank, "Oh, well...."

For Tedahko's sake, I had hoped she had just gone somewhere to muse to herself and lost track of time. But the more that I looked in to it, the more the scenario seemed unlikely. Why would she just disappear, with no reason behind it? Maybe...maybe she was upset or something. Maybe she was regretful of dancing with me a needed space.

I...don't think that was the case. But I couldn't be completely sure.

"Well," sighed Jake, "Looks like we have a problem on our hands."

(Hey guys, what's up?)

We all turned our attention to above. A red tailed hawk was swooping down. For some reason, Marco pulled his hoodie over his head.

Tobias continued swooping, and landed smoothly into a tree.

"Surprisingly, the news isn't about some suicidal plan for once," Marco said.

(What then?)

"Tedahko's gone missing," I said, "You haven't seen her, have you?"

(Sorry Erek,) replied Tobias, (Can't say I have.)

"Tobias, can you trying surveying the surrounding areas for a while?" Jake asked, "Maybe she just passed out in an alleyway or something."

(On it.) Tobias dove of the tree and swooped up and flew off. (I'll let you know at lunch if I've found anything.)

For Tedahko's sake, I hoped he would.

&&&

I spent the whole of first period worrying about where Tedahko was. And as I did, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing a vital clue. Sometimes I hate the influence the Chee have received from humans. Maybe if we weren't all so human-like, then we would be able to see from point A to B more easily, without anything distracting us.

By the time lunch came around, Jake had already talked to Rachel and Cassie. Neither of them had seen Tedahko either. And besides from that, Jake needed everybody on stand-by, just in case what Tobias brought back was bad news.

(Hey everyone,) Tobias spoke up in private thought-speech directed at only the Animorphs and I, (No sign of Tedahko. Sorry Erek. Where ever she is, I doubt she's outdoors.)

Jake (who was sitting opposite me along with Marco,) sighed and rubbed his temples. "Alright. After school, at the usual place?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Sounds good."

Though secretly this only made me more frustrated. Each minute that passed was another minute Tedahko was in danger, and I had to wait to until school was over to do anything about it.

&&&

Last period. Mathematics. It wasn't very hard stuff. I managed to calculate the answers to all the board work in 1.2538 seconds. Not bad. The substitute teacher must have been lazy or something. It seemed that none of the work she gave us was very challenging.

"Oh man, this sucks," somebody complained from the back of the class, "How are we even meant to complete what's on the bored when we haven't even learned it?!"

Huh. Looks like not everybody had the same opinion.

"I...I need coffee. You kids? You'll be fine here, right?" The substitute asked. It looked as if he hadn't got much sleep last night, as he had huge bags hanging from under his eyes. That's one of the good things about being an android – you never get tired.

All the students claimed they would be fine, and as soon as the teacher shut the door, everybody began chattering noisily to their friends.

I couldn't help but notice that Lena was sitting at the desk next to mine. Strange, I hadn't noticed her there before. Had she been sitting there for the whole of the lesson?

...

Wait, does she even go to this school?!

Even though she was in the middle of reading a book (the same one which she was reading when I met her the other day – the one which didn't appear to be in English but some other language that I unfortunately couldn't read) she happened to notice I was staring at her at the corner of my eye.

She closed her book, and spun around on her chair so that she was facing me.

"You go to this school?" I demanded. Why, _why _hadn't I noticed her before?

"Transfered," she replied simply.

"Why?"

"Nothing of your concern."

"Right, of course. Oh, yeah, thanks for last night, by the way."

"It was no trouble."

I found the way she spoke was a bit...weird. It was like she was trying to find the shortest, simplest way to say everything.

"Well, thanks. It meant a lot."

"Want any more advice?"

I didn't quiet catch what she meant? What advice? She saw the confusion on my face and smirked. But she didn't say anything. It was almost as if she was waiting for me to respond first.

"Uh, I guess so."

She smiled that weird, spooky smile. It seemed to be the only smile she was capable of. "Two pieces, Erek. Find one, and everything else will slip into place."

I tried to read her expression to see if she was joking. But I saw none. Whatever expression she had, it had perished when she had began reading that book again.

Two pieces...I had felt earlier that I was missing something that might have been crucial towards finding out the reason behind Tedahko's disappearance. I couldn't grasp it. Did Lena somehow know that? No. Surely not. Coincidental, most likely. It wasn't like Lena had been watching my every move or anything, because that would be down-right spooky.

She did seem like a spooky type, though.

I sighed and looked out the window. It was drizzling outside, and was probably going to stay that way for the rest of the day. Depressing. When you've lived on earth for so long, rain, shine, snow; all of it gets a little too boring. I thought about thinking about the meaning of life. Stupid, I know. But my curiosity and worrying was throwing me into a spiral of boringness. I wasn't exactly in the land of sunshine and lollipops at the moment.

And yes, I realize how stupid that term is.

The grass. I wondered why it blew in the wind. The houses, I wondered why they stood so inanimate and lonely next to the streets.

The rain, I wondered why it fell.

I continued thinking of weird, out-of-character thoughts for the rest of the lesson.

And I found something.

&&&

"I'm missing something."

Marco sighed and shrugged, "Dude, so am I. I mean, seriously, how did [bird-boy] here, let alone the resident android, end up getting a date?!"

"You didn't get a date to the dance, did you?" I asked.

"What!? Don't be preposterous, of course I -"

"He didn't," finished Rachel, and shot Marco a smirk.

"Guys, can we focus here?" Jake asked, snapping into what the Animorphs often refer to as 'Leader Mode.' "In case you haven't noticed, Tedahko has gone missing."

"What exactly do you think is missing, Erek?" asked Cassie curiously.

(No offense,) Tobias cut in, before I got a chance to reply, (But I thought you would be the one which would be able to work out the logical stuff. You're an android. It shouldn't be that hard, right?)

I sighed. "I thought of it that way, too. Normally, I would blame it on human influences but...there may be _other _explanations."

The Animorphs looked at each other for a moment and then at me. They were waiting for me to speak and finish it for them. Secretly, I feared saying the words out loud. Never, no matter how hard I try, does it express the hatred and disgust I truly feel for the name.

"Ellimist."

Jake massaged his temples. Marco stopped pacing. Rachel sat still. Cassie looked up from her chore. Tobias was silent. Ax shifted his stalk-eyes.

(Excuse my curiosity, Erek. But why is it that you think such a thing?) Ax probably wasn't doubting what I was saying. I knew that he, too, had no trust for the creature which called itself the Ellimist.

"You've forgotten?" I asked.

The Animorphs were silent."Guys, it was only like, a month ago! How could you forget?"

Jake shrugged, "Things go by quickly."

"The whole barn incident," I reminded them.

"The one where Drode and the Ellimist were getting at each other's throats for some reason?" Rachel asked.

"Yes."

Jake stared at me. His expression was calm, and collective. Though I could see the gears working inside of his head, trying to figure out what is all meant. It mustn't of worked, because he said, "It doesn't prove anything, Erek. As far as we know, they could have been arguing about anything."

"They referred to a she," Cassie said thoughtfully, "the question is, when they said she, who were they referring to?"

Marco shrugged, "Pamela Anderson?"

Rachel hit him over the head.

"Ow!"

"Any more evidence?" Jake asked. Sceptically...it frustrated me in a way. But I couldn't say I blamed him.

"Think about it for a minute. Why does the rain fall? Just because that's the way things are? Perhaps. But why are you in this war? Haven't you always wanted to blame somebody for it? Surely there must be somebody behind the scenes."

"You're straying from the topic, Erek," Jake said.

I considered mentioning Anne. Tedahko had said that the reason she had a dead girl talking to her was

because of some being called "the Ellimist." That should have been proof enough that the Ellimist was behind everything of this nature.

"Maybe not," Cassie said quietly. Everyone looked at her, including me. "Magic. When I was little, I always believed it existed. I grew up, and the part which believed in it just slipped away. But for it actually to exist..."

(I must confirm my belief in Cassie's theory,) Ax stated, (It is a reasonable explanation behind the _Nish- _Tedahko's abilities. There is simply no way that magic would exist.)

(Yeah, well -) Tobias went silent. We all stared at him. There seemed to be a lot of staring going on today.

"What is it?" I asked.

(I just remembered something. I'm not sure if it means anything, but -)

"Just tell us anyway," Marco said, "You never know, it might be helpful and we'll end up on a suicidal rescue mission. And who knows, maybe we'll even escape with our lives by the end of it!"

Tobias ignored Marco's sardonic sense of humor and continued. (I'm not sure what time it was. But I think you were all still in class. I was surveying the surrounding area. I saw Spencer go and get milk and the convenience store. I didn't think much of it until now but...)

I snapped my fingers together. Well, not really. It was really just a hologram with a sound effect. But to the point...

"Of course!" I exclaimed, "The missing piece! Spencer wasn't at school today!"

Marco frowned. "You think that pretty-boy has something to do with this?"

"I don't know how to describe it, but I just...know so. You'll just have to take my word for it."

"Okay," Jake said, "So maybe we should check this guy out after all. Anybody know where he lives?"

"Nope," replied everyone at the exact same time. Jake looked slightly exasperated.

"I'll run over to the school. Dehan should be still there. I'll log on to the school database and look up Spencer's records." Everyone looked a bit confused.

"Hate to pop your party, but who is Dehan?" Marco asked.

"You know Mr. Peterson?"

"The dude who gives me bad grades in English and eats a marmalade and peanut butter sandwich each lunch? Yeah, I think I know him."

It was a few seconds before Marco got it. Everyone stared at him, waiting for the penny to fall.

"_Oh_. He's a Chee?"

I nodded.

"Huh, I always knew there was something strange about that guy."

"So anyway," I continued, "I'll sneak over, and find his records, then run over to Spencer's house -"

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Jake asked.

(I must concur with my prince,) Ax agreed, (it would be unwise to simply rush over there. Do not forget that there is a perfectly could chance that this human may not even be involved.)

"I'll be fine," I assured them, "You're forgetting about my hologram. I'll make myself invisible and find a way in."

Jake sighed, "Fine. But Erek, if anything, and I mean _anything _seems out of place, run right back and get us. Okay?"

&&&

"I still can't see why you had to give me such short notice," Chee-Dehan, aka Mr. Peterson muttered as he unlocked his office.

"Couldn't of exactly have told you earlier," I explained, "I had no idea that he wasn't at school."

Chee-Dehan lowered his voice. "All I'm saying Erek, is its hard to pull these sort of things off without people getting suspicious. Its also especially dangerous, considering Chapman is a controller."

I sighed. Dehan was right, all the same. But if it turned out that Spencer had Tedahko...it was something I had to risk.

Dehan opened the door and gestured towards his office space. "Be quick," he said, before trotting off. I was going to mention how rude it was of him not to help me hack the system. But like he had said himself, the staff still at school would be suspicious if he didn't return quickly. After all, it wouldn't be hard to me to crack the code on Spencer's details on the school database.

I walked in, and sat in Dehan's comfy leather desk chair. It was so unfair how I was forced to sit on a hard, plastic chair all day while Dehan got to sit on something expensive and comfy. Even more so, it was unfair how I had to drag around sandstone blocks all day while he sat in luxury, because he was the Pharaoh's most trusted advisor. I had never quiet gotten over that. For some reason, Dehan always ended up playing people at the higher end of society.

I then began to hack in to the database. I typed in "Brown" in the search box of the data base, and it came up with three results. Amy Brown, Harry Brown...there. Spencer Brown. I double-clicked the entry.

A pop-up came up, prompting me for a password. I couldn't exactly say I was surprised. Considering Spencer was some sort of fed, it was likely his details would be a lot better guarded than your average kid's.

It took me another twenty seconds to crack the code on Spencer's details. I memorized the details on the screen, turned off the computer, and turned back towards the door.

Lena was standing there.

Okaaaay...I had really not expected that.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, perhaps a little bit too nervously. I was praying that she hadn't been standing there was a while, and hadn't been watching as I hacked into Spencer's details.

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied.

"Uhh...browsing," I said carefully. "You?"

She smiled hauntingly, "Simply...browsing."

I didn't like her choice of words, even more how she just had randomly appeared. Come on, you wouldn't have at least thought that I would have heard the door open! I had a bad feeling about this

Lena girl, though I had only known her for a day or so.

I went to walk out the door so I could get out of that room as soon as possible.

"Be careful," Lena warned as I left, "You never know what surprises might be waiting for you..."

&&&

(Tedahko's POV)

The dark tunnel continued to extrude. I continued to follow the strange creature which I had seen earlier. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Nothing magical. Nor nothing from earth. Yet I continued to pursue it through the labyrinth.

"Where are you?!" I called, running my hands along the smooth, stone edges of the wall. Maybe Anne could help me some how. She always seemed to be helpful when it came to these sort of things.

"Anne?"

The light of the candles continued to flicker, and the tunnel remained silent. Why wasn't Anne answering me?

Suddenly, ahead, I saw a flash of color.

_Run, _I thought to myself, though I was already running towards it once more. It seemed as if I still needed the encouragement for some reason.

I ran, and ran. Until suddenly...

_No floor. Falling, falling._ The surface of the lake, glittering in the dawn, was fast approaching. _Run! _My panicked mind thought. Though it was impossible, I needed to run. _Closer, closer..._

And then....

I gasped, my face covered with sweat. _Just a dream, _I thought to myself, _Just a dream. _

That was right. There was no labyrinth. Nor was there some kind of weird creature, and a lake. I cursed myself for my weird imagination.

I scoped the room. It was the as when it was before I had fallen asleep. Quiet. Empty.

I had no idea where I was or what was happening. This was clearly indicated by the fact my mouth was gagged, and I was bound to a chair positioned in the middle of the room. Wonderful, huh?I was horrified, to say the least. I had never been in this sort of position before. What was even more annoying was that I couldn't seem to remember how on earth I had got there. The last thing I remember was walking out of the school after dancing with Erek. It was as thought a big chunk of my memory was missing.

Suddenly, the door screeched open. My eyes darted rapidly towards it.

In stepped a girl. She was African-American, had dark, short hair and stern-looking eyes. Her age was perhaps early twenties or late teens, and she looked very professional, as indicated by the blouse and suit she was wearing over it.

Familiar...very familiar...

If my hands weren't behind my back and tied to the chair, I would have snapped my fingers. It was that NSA agent! The one that gave me that lie-detector test! What did she have to do with this? Or even better question I had to ask, what was her name? It had been a month, I think. Agent January? ...No. February maybe? Doubt it. Why couldn't I had good memory for once?

She smiled politely at me and said, "Its about time you woke up. I didn't know it was possible to sleep for so long."

Sleep? Long? How long had I been asleep? I couldn't really be sure. The room did have a window, but it was covered by dark-colored curtains.

"Let me go!" I shouted, though it came out more like, "Ert-eeh-ooh!" because my voice was muffled by the gag.

"Calm down," she replied, surprise, calmly.

Calm down?! She expected me to be calm after I woke up to find that I was tied to a chair? Very smart thought on her behalf. I grunted stubbornly and gave her a dirty look.

She sighed and walked out, closing the door behind her. So after all of that, she was just going to leave me here?! How nice of her! Sure, just leave the tied up, confused, last user of magic on earth by herself in a room to do nothing but ponder how she got into that room in the first place.

Wait...Magic! I could use -

I didn't get a chance to complete that thought, before another person walked through the door. Only this time, it was somebody that looked a whole lot familiar.

Spencer.

Spencer must have seen my shocked expression, before he said, "Calm down, it's okay Teh."

Spencer...did that mean...he was behind this? Was he the one that kidnapped me? He...never seemed crazy or anything. I was confused beyond compare.

Spencer walked over and the removed the gag from my mouth.

I seized the opportunity and screamed. I screamed until my lungs could take it no more. Okay, so it wasn't the wisest thing to do. But Spencer didn't seem to mind. He just stood there patiently until I was finished. Now that I think about that, that was rather creepy.

"Guess you're probably wondering why you're tied to a chair, huh?" he asked curiously. I took a moment to notice that was dressed rather similar to that Agent Month lady. The same unusual, formal style. Just plus a gun on his belt...

"No, I thinking about what's for dinner!" I replied sarcastically in a harsh, almost screaming tone.

Spencer nodded calmly. Again with the calmness. "I'll tell you, but you have to try your best not to get too upset, okay?"

"I can't make any promises," I replied once more, my voice a twist of bitterness and anger.

Strangely enough, Spencer seemed to accept my angry and confused words and continued speaking."You're in danger, Tedahko."

"Nah, you reckon'?" I replied, "I've been possibly kidnapped, and you think I'm in danger? How did you figure that out?" When times come to worst, resort to sarcasm.

At the same time that all of this was happening, a part of me was trying to come to terms with it all. Spencer had always seemed so..._nice. _I didn't _like _like him or anything, but I always thought he was a good, honest guy.

"Not from us."

"Who's us?" I asked cautiously.

Spencer bit his top lip and said slowly, "The NSA, Teh." Well, that would explain the uniform. Still, it gave me quiet a shock. This was my boyfriend...ex-boyfriend soon, maybe...who just admitted he's an NSA agent. How often in real life does this actually happen?!

I nodded and said seriously, "Continue. Now."

So Spencer told me. He told me about how he had reluctantly been sent to town with a strict supervisor so that they could investigate alien sightings. He told me about how he had found out Erek wasn't human. Heck, he even told me about how home-sick he was and how much he missed his parents, who were on the other side of the country.

And during all this, I just simply sat there, trying to absorb it all. It all...seemed so unreal, I guess.

"It still doesn't explain why I'm here," I pointed out.

"Right, of course," he replied. "Tedahko, the NSA have reason to believe that Erek might be dangerous."

I had to stop myself from erupting with laughter. "Erek? Dangerous?" I said, "And why am I here, then?"Spencer look a bit taken back. "Well, uh..." His eyes then narrowed. "You're not denying it."

"Denying what?" I asked curiously.

"That he's an android."

I froze."You're not saying that I'm wrong or anything. Did you know?"

Not good.

Not good, not good, not good...

"Maybe..." I replied quietly, "Now answer my question."

Spencer still looked really surprised. So apparently he didn't know that I knew about Erek. So what? I still couldn't see the big deal here. He then got over his shock and said, "Before I tell you, there's something else. Something I have to apologize for. When we were dating...I mean, I liked you at first. And I still care about you as a friend but..." a long silence ensured, "for some of the time, it was just for the good of the mission."...He...he had been using me? All that time, when I could have been with Erek, I was with Spencer? Everything that I had done the past week or so and seemed so pointless and in vain.

"But why?" I asked quietly.

"Erek," Spencer replied, "You two were best friends. I needed some way to get information about him. I'm...sorry." His words seemed sincere. But that didn't mean they were. And it didn't mean I was going to forgive him. I just stared at him blankly. He continued.

"About the chair. We, the NSA, we need to keep the citizens safe. The only way we can do this is capture Erek."

I froze and my jaw dropped open. "Ca-capture?" I stuttered, the words left hanging. There was no way I could believe what I was hearing – absolutely no way. He did _not _just say he was going to capture my best friend.

"I didn't want you to become involved in this," he continued, "But we needed to find a way to lure Erek here."Lure...his plan was slowly unraveling.

"I'm the lure..." I whispered to myself, out of breath.

Spencer nodded. "Yes. From what we have gathered, Erek is smart. It won't be long until her arrives to save you, if he really valued your friendship."

That little...how dare he?! How dare Spencer use me as a lure for his own pathetic little plan to capture Erek?! Anything that was making me scared before had vanished, and now I was nothing but angry. I couldn't believe what I had just heard – that I was nothing but a lure. Something that would lead Erek into a trap.

"He can't hurt anybody." It was a desperate action. I felt just alone by saying it that I was betraying Erek. But I needed to stop this before it even began. "Its not too late. You can just release me, and we can all pretend this has never happened."

Spencer sighed, "It isn't that easy, Teh."

It happened in an instant. The shape, so fast that it was a blur, crashed through the door and ran next to me. In a blink of an eye, Spencer had withdrawn his gun. He fired.

_Erek fell to the ground._

**A/N: All together now: CL-CL-CLIFFIE!!!**

**I can see a certain group of reviewers, right at this very moment, going "NOOOOOOOOO!" But don't worry, Erek lives. If I killed him off, I would never forgive myself. But you have to admit, it is a truly evil cliffie.**

On other news, it doesn't seem like my word "Cliffie" is catching on. I've tried searching it on Google to see if there is any FF related results, and all I find is websites with references to some red, long eared dog from a children's book series.... D; Not that there is anything wrong with long eared, red dogs. 

**I have way to much free time, I guess.**

**Like always, reviews, whether constructive criticism, feedback, or just the normal nice reviews, all very much appreciated. It makes my day reading your suggestions and comments. A few weeks ago I actually discovered I had anonymous reviewing disabled. I could have sworn that I had turned it on ages ago. So if there's anybody who wants to review anonymously, still please do! I'll reply via Author's Note.**

**Last but not least, for those who are interested, the next chapter of The Visser Humiliation Club is nearly complete. But it is a heck of a long chapter. Its already 17 pages long! XD**


	33. Fufillment

**A/n: At long last, chapter 33 is here. And now, readers, I am pleased to say that I've filled in the**

**middle. By this I mean that I have a certain ending and near-ending for As If By Magic. My estimation for the last chapter will be about chapter 45. There's a bit to tell yet, so please bear with me!**

**Now, on to the anonymous review replies:**

**At Unknowable:  
I live on the exotic little island of Tuvalu in the middle of the ocean – let's see if those ferrets can swim.**

**At loveanimorph10468:**

**Awww, shucks ;D Thanks for your kind words and support. Don't worry, I'm not going to abandon either story any time soon.**

**Credit Time!!!**

**Mimi-dudette for beta-reading. She is worthy of a whole platter of sushi. Or, if she hates sushi, I'll just chuck a cupcake her way ;D**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name. (PS: Are you still going by that pen name?)**

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Animorphs, there would be a game on the Wii for it by now.**

_Chapter 33 – Fulfillment_

When I was little, my parents had taken me to a circus. I remember the atmosphere being so lively and happy. Performers were walking to and fro, the smell of peanuts drifted through the air. It was one of the best days of my child hood. That is, until I discovered I suffered from Coulrophobia – an extreme fear of clowns.

The day didn't turn out so well after that. I was so scared as I saw that evil creature, red nose, rainbow hair and all. My breathing had gotten heavier, my had throat tightened. I was scared I couldn't even speak.

Since then, I don't think I've ever been that scared. If you don't count being chased by a blue centaur through the woods, that is.

But now...it was as if my Coulrophobia was nothing. My heartbeat was so loud, I couldn't hear my own hysterical scream as I realized what had just happened – _Spencer had shot Erek._

Erek's hologram flickered, revealing the interlocking plates of ivory and steel underneath. His body laid motionless.

My screaming stopped, and for a moment I was suspended in utter disbelief. Oh god...there wa- there was no way this was happening. It just...it was impossible. Erek can't be...he _can't_ be dead...

Spencer calmly took his gun and clipped it back on his belt. And as quickly as the silence had came, it stopped.

"You idiot!" I screamed, my voice full of nothing but raw hatred. "What have you done!?"

Spencer looked down at Erek, who's hologram was not flickering any more, but gone all together.

"The right thing," Spencer replied, "I have a duty to the community to -"

"Bull!" I exploded.

I then tried to escape the grasp of the ropes which were bounding me to the chair, by swinging back and forth awkwardly. But no matter how much I swung, the ropes didn't seem to get any looser. The only good this did was loosen my necklace I had on (The one I had made out of the crystal I had found on the beach a while back) and cause it to fly off and roll across the floor. It stopped right near where Erek's hand might have been – except now, since his hologram was gone, it was a metallic paw.

"Don't try to struggle," he said, "I don't want you hurting yourself."

I gasped in sarcastic disbelief. "Oh, like you did to Erek? Of course I'm going to struggle, you damn psycho!"

Spencer looked a bit a taken back, then went quiet. He looked away and then muttered in a barely audible voice, "You'll thank me later."

Like how I should thank him for ever meeting me? Like I should thank him for taking up my time, that I could have been spending with Erek all along? Like for how he shot my best friend?

When I thank him for _anything_, it would be when hell freezes over.

I continued to rock crazily back and forth on the chair, keeping an anxious eye on Erek. A part of me expecting him to get up any second. But he wasn't going to get up.

"HELP!" I screamed loudly, "Somebody, help!"

"Don't waste your breath," Spencer sighed, "There's nobody in the house except for myself and Agent June."

_Oh, _I thought to myself, _So that was the month._

And no sooner had I thought that thought when...

((Knock knock!))

The door rammed down, sending wood chip flying everywhere. In walked a gorilla, a tiger, a wolf, a grizzly bear, and a blue centaur.

I'm not a particularly religious person, but at that moment I breathed a thanks to whatever higher being would listen.

Spencer backed away quickly against the wall, looking startled. He withdrew his gun, and pointed it shakily at the supposed escaped zoo animals.

((No chance, buddy,)) said Marco, and he walked over to Spencer and flicked the side of his head with he huge gorilla fingers. This caused Spencer to lose consciousness, and he body fell like a sack of wet cement. When it came down to it, Spencer didn't even dare shoot at the gorilla. He was probably too scared to.

((Tedahko!)) Cassie cried, ((Are you okay?))

"Does it look like I am?" I replied dryly.

Rachel walked over on the hind leg of her grizzly bear morph and over to Erek. ((Idiot,)) she muttered, ((we told him he shouldn't come here alone.))

I wanted to protest against her. But I was too tired and drained to even speak.

((Ax, cut Tedahko free,)) said Jake.

((Yes Prince Jake,)) replied Ax (I could have sworn I heard him say that reluctantly) and he swung his tail blade, cutting the ropes free. I didn't even have time to think about how dangerous it was. It was like he had a bow and arrow, and I was the person with an apple sitting on my head.

((Don't call me prince,)) said Jake automatically.

I stood up and almost fell right back down again. My knees were refusing to work, and were bound to give in at any moment. I would have fell down, if I hadn't leaned against the centaur/Ax. Ax looked at me disdainfully.

I sent him a look that said, "Hey, I'm the one who has been through a life-threatening ordeal here, so get over it and help me stand."

I watched a Marco picked up Erek's body and hauled it over his shoulder. ((Just like old times...)) he muttered. Not sure what he meant by that...

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cassie staring hard at something lying near where Erek had been lying. Everything was quiet for a full ten seconds or so. It was like they were hosting their own little private conversation, and I wasn't in it. At last, Cassie picked up the crystal in her jaw and trotted towards the door. Why?

We were just about to leave the awful scene when Rachel tilted her head to look at Spencer. ((What about him?))

"What about him?" I asked bitterly, "leave him here to rot. He isn't even worth the effort."

&&&

Lourdes had been waiting for us in Spencer's backyard. I'm not sure how she had turned up there. But when I thought about it more, I realized the Animorphs probably had something to do with it.

When Marco walked out of the house with Erek hanging over his shoulder, Lourdes gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my..." she breathed, "What...what happened?"

The Animorphs all glanced at me expectantly.

How come they were...Oh. That's right. They weren't there. I bit my lower lip and blinked harshly, trying to stop myself from looking a wuss by crying.

((Tedahko,)) Cassie urged gently, before beginning to demorph along with the other Animorphs.

"He...he was shot..." I muttered, "Spencer shot him."

"Okay," Lourdes said. "I'll get Erek out of here. Everybody else – you should probably get out of here, too. I intercepted a police radio transmission. Some of the neighbors have been calling about the noise."

I saw Jake whisper something to Cassie and she nodded.

"Tedahko, maybe you should spend the night at my place," she suggested.

Selfish as it may be, I ignored her.

"Erek," I said, "Will he be okay?"

"He...he should be," Lourdes said, "Things like this have happened before." Her face was marked with uncertainty. Was she just saying that for the sake of not upsetting me, or was she being sincere? It was hard to be sure...

Cassie took my hand gently and lead me down the side of the house. As I looked back, I saw Lourdes pick up Erek effortlessly, and project a hologram of a car around them. They went down the opposite side of the house, which appeared to have sufficient room for a car to pull down. Though, it wasn't a car.

I looked on ahead, and tried not to cry.

&&&

I can't image what Cassie's mom would have been thinking when she pulled up at the side of the road to see her daughter standing in spandex with a girl in a torn and ripped dress, who looked like she had been hit by a tornado.

Cassie put away her cell phone, and looked at her mom's questioning face.

We had walked to a strip of shops not far from Spencer's house. It would have been to risky calling

Cassie's mom to pick us up at Spencer's – for obvious reasons.

"What do we tell her?" I whispered to Cassie.

"Don't worry. I'll do the talking."

Her mom put down the window. "Hi mom!" Cassie greeted cheerfully.

"Cassie," her mom said seriously, "Why are you two dressed like that?"

"Uh..." Cassie paused. "Street fashion!" she exclaimed, "Honestly mom, you're so not up to date with what is cool these days."

Her mom blinked, and looked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I never thought I would hear my own daughter say that. Come on, get in."

We opened the car door and I scooted over to the other side. Cassie got in, then closed the door. We put on our seatbelts.

"So," Cassie's mom began casually as we drove off, "Who's your friend?"

"Mom, this is Tedahko."

"Tedahko..." she mused, "that's a... beautiful name." She was trying to sound polite. It didn't work.

"Thank you," I said sarcastically, "It's Japanese-Javanese."

The rest of the car trip was sat in silence. Cassie's mom was probably wondering who on earth I was,

but refrained from asking any more questions.

It wasn't like I was in the mood for answering her questions, anyway.

I still left suspended in the same disbelief.

Disconnected.

He...he would be okay..right?

&&&

_(Anne's POV)_

"_One day," I had said, "I'm going to go to France."_

_Trevor stared back at me cluelessly, his dark hair tossing and turning in the wind. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and Trevor had insisted on taking me to a touristy park at the peak of a mountain. When I had asked him why, he had said that he wanted to "engage in the act of consuming a picnic lunch like the humans on TV."_

_Sure, he wasn't necessarily doing it for me. Not that I knew of. But it was still a memorable day._

"_Why is it that you wish to go to this country, Anne?" Trevor asked. _

_I laughed, "Well, why not?"_

_Trevor looked confused. "But that is not a reas-"I interrupted him. _

"_You've never wanted to go to France, or even Europe?" I asked._

_He frowned. "I do not have time for such things at the moment."_

_So for some reason, Trevor had time to stuff his face with fries, get straight As and hang out with me, yet he never pictured himself ever going to Europe? Strange Trevor..._

"_When I'm done with school, out of that prison, I'm going to France."_

"_Ah, does this country that you refer to have delicious delicacies? Is that the reason you wish to visit it?"_

_I almost burst out laughing. Was that boy's mind always on food?_

"_Yes, it has great food. But it also is -"_

_It was his turn to interrupt me. "Well, I suppose I have no choice. Anne, we shall be transported to this country together!"_

I sat there in Z-Space, reminiscing memories from long ago. I had been like this for about a week now, hanging around in a suspended motion. The Ellimist hadn't bothered showing up since...ages ago. The last weird being-thing I saw was Drode, and that was at our conversation from...well, a week ago.

My connection with Tedahko was currently non-existent. It was starting to really worry me. What had happened? Was she okay? And where was the Ellimist during all of this? He could at least pop up every once in a while and brief me on what was going on. Just because Toomin has a tight schedule spreading peace and love amongst the universe, doesn't mean he has to totally ignore me.

**I have not been ignoring you, Anne.**

He, the Ellimist, appeared before me in his favorite disguise of an old, blue floating man. Is it to late to take it back?

"It's about time you showed up," I muttered, "You have quite a bit of explaining to do, you know."

The Ellimist laughed. It was a thundering laugh, coming from all directions at once. Also, it was somewhat creepy. **What is it you want explained?**

"A. Where have you been? B. Why have I lost my connection with Tedahko? C. Why didn't you tell me Trevor was on Earth? D. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

**As you had thought, I have been "spreading peace and love amongst the universe."**

Great, the guy was trying to humorous. This wasn't going to turn out well.

**Anne, **he said, **I no longer require your services.**

I blinked. "What?"

**You have fulfilled your half of the deal with Tedahko. She no longer needs you.**

She didn't need me? The time...had gone by so quickly. I expected my half of the deal was going to take a while, with all the issues Tedahko needed sorting out. But for it to really be all done...the feeling was surreal.

"Tedahko. What about her? She's still the same stupid, naïve little kid she's always been."

The Ellimist smiled. From everywhere at once.

**There will be a new guide, a new one to help her find her way.**

All of a sudden, I felt jealous. I was being replaced? I had been the best damn guide ever, damn it. But if she found her way, wherever that was, did it really matter who showed her? Over the time I had spent with Tedahko, I had came to think of her like the sister I never had. An annoying sister, perhaps. But still...

"Trevor?"I asked, "This is when I see him again?"

**Yes, **he replied, **But first, there are things that need to be settled.**

"Like what?"

I had never believed in gossiping. Mainly because all the girls at my school had mainly done it about me. Over time, I had developed the attitude that some people's business is just their business, and is meant to stay that way.

He still told me what Erek had done, that one night.

&&&

I watched silently as Erek stepped out of the basement door, a cover-up for the underground park. He looked tired and worn out, as if he had just been woken up. As he walked towards the couch and plunked down on it, I watched him.

It was strange.

I hadn't seen Tedahko at all in the house. But I probably didn't need to worry. If something drastic had happened to her, the Ellimist would have at least told me...I think.

I watched him as he sat there, watching a gameshow. He looked sort of distant in a way. Seriously Ellimist, what happened while I was away?

"Hey Erek," called Erek's dad from the kitchen, "Now that you've woken up, want me to ring Cassie so she can let Tedahko know?"

Woken up...what?

_No Anne, _I thought to myself. _Not your problem now. Remember?_

Then how come I couldn't stop feeling that something awful had just happened? I felt as if the whole problem was mocking me. Something had happened, yet I had no idea what. If I was there, I could have prevented it. If I was there, I might have been able to do nothing at all...it was irritating not knowing, and being left in the blank.

"Yes," Erek replied. Just...yes. He continued to watch the television show carefully, a hollow look in his eyes.

_Well Anne, I suppose it is now or never._

I paused time.

"Erek."

He didn't answer like most people would have, with an outburst of, "Who said that?!" No. Instead, he stood carefully up, and turned to face me. I should have expected as such. By now, he was probably so used to time pausing and random beings or dead people appearing out of nowhere.

"Anne, right?"

"Yes."

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Tedahko?"

"I was wondering that same question for about a week..." I muttered to myself.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Awkward silence.

I sighed. "Since I've been off the scene for the past week, I'm seriously curious to ask what I've missed out on. Unfortunately, the Ellimist doesn't think it's necessarily."

Erek narrowed his eyes, "I bet it's another game he's playing. Another stupid game, where I just happened to get shot."

My jaw dropped.

"Yo-you got shot?" I shook my head. "No. Never mind. There are other things that I need to talk to you about."

"Like what?" He asked, "The Ellimist has decided to stop using pawns?"I smiled bitterly, "Come on Erek, we all know that is never going to happen."

"Guess so. So what do you need to tell me?"

Here it goes.

But...was it really such a good idea? Should I really make him relieve what had already been done? I may as well could have been pouring acid over a wound instead. He probably wanted to forget that it had ever happened.

But he had to hear this.

One day, he might forgive me.

"I know what happened."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Matcom."

The words were left frozen. Erek looked as if he had been frozen, along with the rest of time at this very moment.

"How do you...?"

"_He_ told me."

He remained silent, quiet and withdrawn. He looked as if he just wanted to hide away, and escape the conversation. Haven't we all wished that once?

"I don't know if Tedahko told you," I said, "but when I was still alive, I was the host body to a Visser. I hated every second of life, and just wanted to rid of it. I was there that night at Matcom."

"No..." he breathed, he hologram flickered in the dimly lit room. "Anne..."

He had gone and put two and two together. There were no survivors. If I was there, he realized, then I mustn't have survived.

"Thank you."

His hologram flickered once more, until it was gone. I was face to face with a steal and ivory greyhound, standing on his hind legs. He was hiding his emotion.

"How can you say that?!" he shouted, "I murdered them, Anne. I murdered you! How can you be thanking me!?"

"You wouldn't understand," I sighed, "Erek, I was a controller. So was everybody else in that building. I know for a fact any of them would have taken death over that fate."

"It doesn't make it right!" It exclaimed, "at the end of the day, I still killed them. I took away life."

"Maybe so," I muttered, "Let me tell you something, Erek – what you did may have been wrong. But in the long term...if they win this war, then you would be the reason they saved humanity."

"Are you done?"

"Almost. About...Tedahko."

"If you are suggesting I tell her -"

"No," I cut him off, "It's your call. Just...just take care of her, okay?"

And with that, time went back into motion, Erek was left staring off into space, and I went off to attend to other business.

&&&

I had left the letter for Tedahko on the floor of Cassie's barn. Seriously, I have no idea why Tedahko was at Cassie's. Maybe it had something to do with Erek getting shot. Anyway, once I had written and placed the letter, I returned to Z-Space.

"I'm done."

**Very well, Anne. It was now my turn to fulfill my half of our deal.**

"Wait," I butted in, "I have a question."

He waited patiently for me to ask, though he probably knew what I was going to ask anyway.

"What are you doing, Ellimist? What are you spinning here? Because if you think I haven't noticed, then you're wrong. Everything that I've seen...it is all a part of something bigger, and I know you're behind it all. Before I see him again, I need to know what you have been doing all this time."

The Ellimist smiled. **You will figure it out with time, Anne. With time.**

He disappeared.

"Ellimist!" I shouted in frustration, "Ellimist!"

But there was no reply. And then, slowly, the dark walls of Z-Space began to fade into color and light.


	34. Okay

**A/N: Long time none written, everybody! Seriously, sorry about the wait. I had a writer's block a mile long. But it's here now!**

Also, thanks to everybody's kind reviews! I would have thought I'd lose everybody by the 30th chapter, but it doesn't seem that way.

**With much sadness, I must announce that there are an estimated four chapters to go. I've had a great time writing this story, and I hope you have all felt the same about reading it. But I need to move on to different stories and tasks.**

**Now, anonymous review replies!**

**At BookObesserNumberOne: Yes, I know the cussing scenes in the last chapter were a little immoral. But I think most people would have done the same thing ;D Anywho, thanks for your kind review!**

**For those who are interested, the next chapter of Visser Humiliation Club should be up within the next few days. Now on with the credits:**

**CREDIT:  
**

**Mimi-dudette for her awesome beta-reading skills. She is deserving of sashimi. And if she doesn't like fish, then I'll give her some...erh, cheesecake!**

**Cornflakecrunch for Spencer's name. **

**Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for the names "Daniel, Chee-Shanos and Chee-Kolee."**

**On with the chapter!**

Chapter 34 - Okay

My name is Tedahko.

And I truly and utterly hate myself.

I'd spent the week at Cassie's barn. Who knows how Cassie convinced her mom to let me stay. She probably told her some sad, pathetic lie.

During the week, I had carried on life as normally as I could. Get up, go to school, back to sleep.  
It was an automatic routine that seemed endless.

My mind never seemed to stray from what happened, though. Erek...If I wasn't so useless, if I was actually able to control my powers, then I could have done something. None of this would have ever happened, and Erek wouldn't be...he would be okay. If I used magic and saved myself, he wouldn't have barged in there and got shot. Everything was my fault.

Not hearing anything about what condition Erek was in didn't help much, either.  
Cassie hadn't said a word. None of the Animorphs had when I saw them at school, either. Everybody seemed to be really careful around me when I was at school. In fact, they pretty much didn't say anything to me at all.

I sighed, and rolled over on the set-up bed that had been set-up in Cassie's bedroom. It was a Friday, but I had refused today to go to school. Actually, I had lied and said I felt sick.

It probably wasn't a very good thing to do, especially since how kind Cassie had been by letting me stay...but at the end of the day, I suppose I didn't really care.

Though it was well into the afternoon already, I hadn't even bothered to get changed out of my pajamas. After all, why should I? It wasn't like I was going to go out of the house any time soon.

I slowly sat up, and made my way over to Cassie's window.

It was sunny outside.

For some reason, I found the happy brightness annoying today. I opened the window to let fresh air into the room, and lent against the window sill.

It was then that I stopped to think – why was I like this?

What happened to Erek was...terrible, but why was I spending all my week moping around? I...hadn't grown some sort of dependency on him, and hadn't realized, had I? Before I had moved to the other side of the state, I had been fine. I had a few close friends, and got bullied from time to time, but it wasn't exceptionally bad.

But back then, I hadn't known him.

At least, not the Erek I knew now. All he was back then was some childhood friend that moved away when I was still quite young.

But now...it just frustrated me how I was incapable of living through a normal week.  
It also frustrated me how Anne had disappeared. Again. As much as I hate to say it, talking to a voice in my head every now and again actually makes me feel better. I wonder where she got to...

"Well," I said to myself as I gazed out the window, "May as well do something."

And the something I had in mind was pacing around the house and doing nothing.

So I walked out the room and down the hallway, only to come face-to-face with Cassie.

"You're home early," I stated.

Cassie looked a bit surprised, "No," she replied, "It's 5:00pm."

Stupid, lousy, incorrect watch...

Cassie examined me with concern, "Tedahko, are you okay?"

"Peachy," I replied sarcastically, and continued walking down the hallway.  
For a reason I am unsure of, my pacing lead me to the noise and stink of the barn. In a cage in the barn was a wolf. Cassie had mentioned some time earlier what it was in for, but I hadn't really been paying attention.

"Lucky wolf," I murmured to the wolf, "You don't have to worry about your best friend being shot, now do you?"

The wolf yawned lazily (at least I think it was a yawn) and sat down.  
I was about to pace my way out of the barn, when I noticed a folded piece of paper lying on the ground which I could have hadn't been there before. Out of curiously, I picked it up and unfolded the paper.

_Tedahko, _

_  
There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just get to the point -I have to go.  
I'm sorry for not being there for you the last week or so. Whatever happened, I hope it wasn't anything too sinister. _

_  
I could write this letter and make it full of mush, or I could get to more important things. I think I'll do a bit of both for once. I've got so much to cover in this letter, but have such a limited amount of time to write it... _

_  
Some time...sometime soon, Erek is going to tell you something. Don't ask how I know this, I just do. When he does, I need you to forgive him. If not for yourself, then for me. _

_  
And please, please, remember that it's never about what is wrong or right. You've stopped denying what you felt for him, and I'm proud of you. I just hope without my aid, you're able to take further action.  
During the time I've known you, you've been like the little sister I've never had. So this is why I say this: _

_  
You're stupid, naïve, immature and deny things to the point of extremity.  
But Tedahko, you're a good kid.  
_

_Behave yourself, stay out of trouble, and don't do drugs.  
_

_~ Anne _

"So..." I murmured, "That's it?"

I let the news sink in, as I sat stood there in the middle of the barn. It seemed the only thing that was comforting me was the growling, squawking and squeaking of the barn animals.

It just felt strange...

She was gone...just like that.

Huh.

"Tedahko?"

With a surprised yelp, I spun around.

"C-Cassie-" I stuttered, "Uh...hi..." I stashed Anne's letter in my pocket, trying to look nonchalant while going about it.

"Mr. King just called," Cassie explained.

"What did he say?"

"That Erek is fine."

I can not explain in words how much relief I felt when she said those four words. It was like my one-week's melancholy had lifted. He was _okay_...that was good.

When I didn't say anything, Cassie looked a little concerned. Maybe she expected me to sigh, "Thank

god" or something along those lines. But that for me wouldn't have cut it.

Perhaps sneaking up on Erek from behind was not a very good method.

...Okay, so it wasn't a very good method at all. But once you realize after pressing the doorbell twenty times that the bell is in fact broken, you don't really care. Come to think of it, I should have really just knocked. But I didn't.

When I walked in and saw Erek, he was sitting in front of the TV. At first I thought "typical Erek," knowing how much he and Mr. King were fond of that TV. But that thought was no sooner overcome by the leap my heart made when I discovered that he was okay.

Relief...it was a good feeling to have.

I then mentally cringed, as I suddenly thought of what Anne might have said in reply.

_Shut it Tedahko!_ I thought to myself, _No thinking_.

_But I just thought then. _

_No thinking!_

Great. Without Anne in my head, I was now thinking to myself. This must be doing wonders for my sanity.

On top of the TV sat a TV remote. And Erek was....I don't know. With one hand put forward and a focused look on his face, it looked as if he thought he was in Star Wars and was trying to use the power of the force to make the remote float forward. But of course he wasn't. That would be just stupid.

I grinned mischievously. I suppose there was one way to find out.

Slowly, I made the TV remote float over to Erek. I was actually surprised I still remembered how to use kinetic magic properly. My skills had been getting rusty lately.

Erek then grabbed the remote from mid air, as if everything was perfectly normal. That is, until his logic kicked in.

He yelped and dropped the remote.

And I couldn't help but to break down in laughter, there and then.  
Erek spun around.

"Tedahko!" he yelled, before looking rather dead-pan, "I was just...erh..." I saw him swish his foot sidewards, as if he was sweeping something under the sofa.

"Using the power of the force to move the remote control?"

"No!" he shot back in defense, "because that would be just...stupid."

I did then something I had wanted to do for ages.

I ran up to him, and pulled him in a tight hug.

Erek stood there awkwardly, like he was not exactly sure how to react.

I bit my lip, and tried to hold back a tear of happiness. Instead, I let out an obvious but unintentional sniffle.

Erek wrapped his arms around me back, and returned my embrace.

"Don't you ever do that again," I said.

"Do what -"

"You know what."

"..._Okay_."

I don't know how long we stood there for. But I'm not going to lie, for whatever time we did stand there together, I enjoyed every second of it.

&&&

School.

I wasn't looking forward to it. At least it wasn't as bad as when Erek wasn't there.

So here I was, sitting in class waiting for first period mathematics. A while ago, our timetables had been swapped around a little bit depending on subject choices. Due to this, I was now in a higher mathematics class, thanks to a mysterious and miraculous force that somehow made up it's mind that I was worthy of As.

Seriously, I have no idea.

Erek was also in this class, and was sitting next to the desk besides me.

And unfortunately, Marco was somehow too.

"I'm telling you, that's what I saw!" Marco said to Rachel in the next row behind me.

"Yeah right," Rachel snorted.

Not having anything better to do, I spun around on my chair.

"Tedahko, were you out flying the other night?"

I blinked, "Huh?"

Marco lowered the tone of his voice so nobody that wasn't in on the conversation would over hear.

"I mean, were you flying that creepy broomstick that you own last night?"

I shook my head, "No. Why?"

Rachel laughed, "You should stop making lame jokes, Marco. It's making you see things."

I narrowed my eyes. "What did you see?"

Erek then decided to join in on the conversation, and spun around on his chair.  
"What are we talking about?"

"What Marco saw."

Erek and I looked expectantly at Marco.

"I saw something or something riding a broomstick," he whispered seriously.

I let out a short laugh. Yeah, right Marco. And I'm the Queen of England. Rachel decided to be mature and get back to finishing her homework before the teacher arrived.

Marco looked pretty peeved. "I thought you would believe me," he whispered to me.  
"Why would I?" I whispered back, "There's no way, by what I know, that that was a witch, considering in the modern day they don't ride broomsticks. And of course, it can't be the same as what I am..."

I grinned, "So, stop drinking coffee before bed."

Marco was just about to protest when the teacher entered the room.

And of course, that was when we all decided to snap to attention.

"Good morning class," said Mr. Peterson, who was apparently my new mathematics teacher. I didn't know much about Mr. Peterson. But from what I had heard, he was pretty strange. He had once been caught talking to a bookcase.

He went up to the board and wrote his name on it in big, bold letters.

"My name is Mr. Peterson. Hopefully however long you spend in my class, we'll all have a good time!"  
I heard Marco make some witty remark about peanut-butter sandwiches under his breath. I didn't get the joke.

Mr. Peterson eyed Marco with exasperation as if he had heard, but wasn't overly fussed to do anything about it.

Erek began restlessly tapping his pen on the desk. Mr. Peterson eyed him, and Erek stopped. Erek smirked. Mr. Peterson, again, looked exasperated. I was left bewildered.

Though Erek has missed a bit of school while being...well, you know... I had also missed one day from when I was kidnapped. I guess it turns out that sometimes you can miss more in a day than an entire week.

&&&  
It was lunch break, and I met up with Erek besides my locker so we could head off to the cafeteria.  
"So what are they serving for lunch today?" I asked Erek, as I crammed my books in to my locker. It was good that things were back to normal. Or as normal as things could get, anyway.

Erek shrugged, "No clue. Probably the cheap, cardboard they normally serve. He grinned, "I doubt the whole world would be affected that quickly, just because it couldn't survive without my awesomeness."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. Same old Erek.

And then, he came.

He looked just like any other normal kid. Except for the fact that he was a prodigy, my ex-boyfriend, and had tried to kill my best friend just a week prior.

No...not here. Not now...

Why did he have to turn up today, of all days, just when normality was beginning to shift in view again?

Just...

Erek seemed to spot him too, and narrowed his eyes. But he didn't run. He stood his ground. He wouldn't have been angry at me if I had ran. But I didn't either. There was some sort of unsettling force in place that held us firmly attached to the ground.

He was coming towards us one second, and right in front of us the neck.

Erek's eyes darkened. Without thinking, I grabbed Erek's hand within my own and squeezed it gently. I didn't really know who I was doing it for – for my comfort, or Erek's.

"Tedahko," Spencer said, and then looked at Erek, "Erek."

"Get the hell out of here, Spencer," I whispered.

His reaction was one of hurt. He had expected me to say that to him. He deserved it.  
"I will," he promised quietly, trying to make sure that nobody else could here our conversation. "As from tomorrow, I'm being transferred."

I didn't need to know where to. He would be gone – that was good.

"Get out of here," I whispered again, "And don't you ever, ever come back."

"I won't." He turned around to head off, but stopped. "But though it may not mean anything...I'm sorry."

I stood there with Erek, watching as Spencer walked away. And as soon as he exited through the school doors for the last time, I knew something was out of my life for the better.

&&&

The walk on the way home from school was long and quiet. Seeing Spencer again had put us both in a bad mood.

It was a really bad time to do what I did then. But still, I felt as if I needed to tell him.

"Erek...I..."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry..."

Erek was silent for a moment, taking in what I had just said.

"You haven't done anything wrong."

"Yes, I have," I admitted. "If I wasn't so stupid and so blind...I...I believed that monster over you. It was unforgivable."

"Tedahko..." he said quietly, "To me, you did nothing wrong. But if you want forgiveness, then you have it." He looked on. "From now on, we'll put everything else behind us. Let's both be completely honest with each other."

There were dozens of questions I could have asked him at that moment since we had both decided to be honest, but I went against temptation.

We both walked on a new path, putting everything else in the past.

&&&

I banged my fist on my desk. Stupid mathematics homework. Why did it have to be so hard?  
So if X equaled that, then that divided by that then squared and...

Ugh.

"Need help?"

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned many times before that I don't like being sneaked up upon. Now was no exception.

"Don't do that, Erek," I said, trying to catch my breath.

"Did I scare you?" Erek asked smugly.

"Erh...no. Of course not."

Erek looked down at my mathematics homework. "You seriously don't get the work that Dehan set you?"

I was going to ask who Dehan was, but then figured out it was probably Mr. Peterson he was referring to. Yet another reference that I missed being in on because I was kidnapped. Joy.

"No, I don't."

"It's easy."

"Easy for you to say."

I put down my pencil, and there was an awkward silence.

"I'm really glad you're okay," I said again. No matter how many times I said it, I didn't feel as if I could fully explain the relief I felt. I was going to make sure he understood that.

And this time, Erek, who was standing next to me, slipped his hand in to mine.

"Me too."

It was one of those moments.

Although before I might have been whinging to Anne about how I didn't like like Erek and how I wasn't denying a thing, things had changed now. I cared about him. It wasn't that I didn't care for him this was before, it was just that now... I don't know. Some how, after everything that had happened, I felt as if maybe keeping things to myself wasn't the right way to go about things after all.

"Tedahko," Erek said slowly. He released my hand. "The window."

I looked up through the window. And what I saw...it was impossible.

"Is that what I think it is?" Erek asked.

"I don't know..." I stuttered, "It shouldn't be...but..."

"But it's there," he stated.

I stood up off the office chair, and stared out the window at the silhouette of someone, something riding a broomstick upon the horizon.

"Looks like Marco wasn't as crazy as we thought he was..." I muttered.

Then I opened the window. "I'm going after it.""Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Erek asked.

"I honestly have no clue," I admitted, "But if there is a chance, even the slightest, that I'm not the last user of magic on earth...should I take the risk to find out?"

"I'll follow on the ground," he suggested, "whoever or whatever that is, we'll find them."

I nodded.

And then for the first time in ages, I found the will to shape shift.

I had long since forgotten what it was like to fly. The feeling was nothing short of amazing. But I wasn't up here for a joy ride. I kept my eye on the silhouette, growing closer and closer. Below, Erek was keeping. In the form of a Ferrari, that is.

Couldn't he have chosen a hologram that wasn't a cool-looking, expensive sports car so he didn't stand out as much? Boys.

All of a sudden, I spotted the person/thing on the broomstick descending to no other place but the park. I was still left utterly confused why all the weird events seemed to occur in that very same park. But by now, I had kind of gotten over it and learned to stop questioning it.

After the figure, I landed down in the park. By this time, Erek had also caught up, and went to stand beside me.

The figure, who on a closer glance was dressed in some long, dark cloak (actually similar to the one I have) was only a matter of feet away. However, it's back was turned.

"Who are you?"

It turns out whoever the figure was, they also had no appreciation for getting sneaked up upon. Before I had a second to think about what was happening, their broomstick shot out of their hands and through mid-air, until the end was positioned right near my throat.

Two could play that game.

I used telekinetic magic to thrust the broom back at it. Before impact, the broom stopped in mid-air again. Since I wasn't responsible for that, I presumed it was...whatever that thing was.  
The thing, whatever it was, turned around. It's face was still covered by the hood of cloak.

"Enough games," I said.

I used telekitenic magic once more, this time making the hood shoot back to reveal a face.

Lena.

No sooner had I frozen in disbelief, trying to take in what everything meant, did Lena turn towards Erek and say:

"_Chee-Shanos, it's been a very long time."  
_


	35. Reminiscing

**A/n: I feel as if I rushed the writing of this chapter a little. If I had written this chapter in the way I was originally going to write it, it would have gone for at least 20 pages. Also, this chapter was originally going to be very darkly themed. But in the end, I had to ask myself, "If I write it in that way, would I be able to keep this story T?" The answer was a solid no.**

**This chapter is yet another background story. It clears a few things up, but not that many. The next chapter, which I'm in the middle of writing now, will be the real eye opener. **

**There is an estimated three more chapters. I'm still in the process of deciding whether I should go for three, or two. If I want to give it a nice, proper finish, then three would probably be better.**

**Also, I must apologize to Skyflight Erek's Loyalty for not giving her credit in the last chapter. It was her utter genius which came up with the remote control scene. Thanks, Sky!**

**I must also give a huge thanks to Mimi-dudette for her, like always, wonderful job beta-reading!**

Chapter 35 – Reminiscing

"Get out of here, Spencer."

"Tedahko, please -"

"I hate you."

I flinched back, as if I had just been slapped.

"Try to understand...I never meant for any of this to get so far!"

My excuse wouldn't have cut it for her. And I guess for me, it wouldn't have either. It was a sad thing when a cherished belief perishes.

"But you did," she whispered harshly.

"I thought you were in danger."

Her words were then left hanging on her lips. She didn't say a word, yet I understood. We could never be friends. I was an agent. She was in love with...a robot, a machine … that I had tried to destroy.

I was east, and she was west.

She looked at me one last time. The deep look of hatred in her eyes...I felt my heart snap in two, because I knew that she...everything was summed up in that one look.

And then, she leaned closer and whispered,

"_Wake up."_

_..._

"Brown, wake up!"

I groaned as I was roughly pushed to my side. Lazily, I wiped the sleep out of my eyes but refused to move.

"Five more minutes..." I murmured.

I was shoved again.

"Oww..."

"Brown, I'm serious! As your superior in rank, I command you to get off your lazy rear end!" yelled a familiar voice.

Hm...familiar. Uh..

Hmm...

"BROWN!"

I sat up quickly, my eyes jolting open.

An angry Agent Alicia June was standing at the side of my bed, hands on her hips. She did _not _look impressed.

"Yeah, yeah...I'm up," I muttered.

"Good," she said sternly. "Carry your suitcase to the car. We're out of here."

It took my tired brain a moment to process what was actually going on.

"What?"

"We're leaving. Now." Her eyes darkened. "I'll explain in the car. Hurry up."

"What are you talking about?!" I demanded. "June, you can't expect me to just leave abruptly like this!"

"Leave, or lose your job."I actually had to pinch myself then to make sure I really did hear her say that. Sure, Alicia and I weren't best friends, but she had never...said _anything_ like that. What was going on?

"You can't do that!" I protested.

And then, she leaned closer to me – exactly what Tedahko did in my dream – and whispered in my ear, "Do you want to take that chance?"

She pulled back and said, "I'll be waiting in the car."

Whatever was unfolding here and now, I had decided I didn't like it.

&&&

_Alicia has turned into a quiet child, _I thought to myself when I glanced at her. Her attitude, her traits, had taken a dramatic turn. I had no time to react, no time to even begin to comprehend what was going on. And I was hoping, _just hoping, _that she would clear a few things up for me.

"Alicia, what the hell is going on?"

It wasn't long after when I had been awoken (2:00am. Wonderful.), and we were driving to...somewhere. Nowhere. What did it really matter?

"Something you can't comprehend."

Well, thanks for stating the obvious.

"You wake me up at 2:00am, you tell me we're leaving and you don't tell me where we're going. I want an explanation _now._"

Alicia kept her eyes on the road, but muttered in a barely audible voice, "So it has come to this."

"Come to what?" I demanded.

"We're in danger."

"From who?"

"Myers."

I frowned, considering this. I deemed it not possible.

"Myers?" I demanded, "Don't blame whatever this is on Myers, because -"

"I'm being honest," she replied quietly. I fell silent. "Myers..." she began, "He isn't _him_ anymore. He's changed."

"In what way?" I then paused. "Wait, this doesn't have anything to with you cutting off our communication with him a while ago, does it?"

"…Yes."

"You told me it wasn't anything serious!" I exclaimed, "You said that there was nothing that I should worry about!"

"I lied, Brown," she said quietly.

We were dead silent for the next minute. All the while, I sat there, feeling isolated an truly alone. The only thing that was with me was a concept I was unable to grasp. Strange, huh? I'm a prodigy, yet now I felt as clueless as any normal person would. I hated the feeling.

When I wasn't first to speak up with one of the dozens of questions floating around my head, Agent June did it first.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I do," I said, unsurely.

She sighed and began speaking.

&&&

My name is Alicia June.

When I was sixteen, I was an idiot. And up to this day, I still have only myself to blame for what happened. I was so oblivious, so naïve.... I feel sick thinking about what happened those six years ago.

I hate being what I am now even more than what I was before in some ways, I guess. There is no way to take back what has happened, but I try anyway. It's nothing but a lost cause, and I know that. But still...

_Still..._

"You backstabbing little -!"

I shoved through the crowd at my school dance, making my over to Charlotte. Charlotte, who was making out with _my_ boyfriend.

I ran up to her, and pushed her roughly from behind.

"Hey, wh-"

She spun around, coming face-to-face with me.

"Oh, I'm sorry?" she smirked a smug, irritating smile. Seeing the look on her face did nothing but anger me even further. "Did I just steal your boyfriend?"

Maybe I should back up a little. In fact, I should back up a _lot_. Starting at this point will do nothing but confuse you further.

I grew up in a fancy but rather dangerous suburb that made The Bronx look like a playground. With my father being a CEO of a major company and my mother a successful business woman, I lived a fairly good life.

I had everything that most dream of; a nice house, plenty of money, expensive clothing...no real difficulty ever got in my way.

And I guess, in a way, that would be the foundation for my future downfall.

My elementary school was a private one, for people with large pockets who could afford to send their children. Despite being from a wealthy family, I didn't have the stereotypical trait of being a snob. In elementary school, things were good. I may have only had a small group of friends, but I certainly wasn't unhappy.

In middle school, my attitude slowly started to change. Since most of my friends had gone on to different middle schools, I was left to make new friends.

If only I had picked my friends better.

But I suppose, in a way, that part wasn't my fault. They had seemed like decent people. However, there is no way to tell what time would do to people. They may be something one year, and another the next.

And that brings me to high school.

&&&

"Quick question."Alicia sighed, waiting for me to continue.

"What have your old schools got to do with this? We've been driving to god knows where for, what, twenty minutes?"

Perhaps it was a little unfair of me to be so snappy. But still, I was without an explanation. And I wasn't going to rest until I found answers.

One thing I would have particularly liked to have known was where we were going. Alicia hadn't said a word about it...

"I'm a bad storyteller," she admitted grumpily, "I know. But can you just bare with me?"

"Have I mentioned that I would really like to know where we are going?"

She stared on ahead in to the darkness and said simply, "You'll know when we get there."And then, she continued.

&&&

Leaning casually against the brick wall of the alleyway, Charlotte puffed on her cigarette.

"Glad the cops didn't find us," Charlotte said between and inhale and exhale of smoke, "If they found out we gatecrashed that party, we'd be screwed."

Damien, my boyfriend, chuckled and continued playing with my hair. "As if they'd find out." He then pecked me on the cheek.

"Bye babe, needa run."

"Me too," Charlotte agreed, and casually tossed away her cigarette.

We went out separate ways for the day. Or the last period of school that we were meant to be attending, anyway. Not very smartly, we had chosen a place to hang out that wasn't to far from high school. So when I left the alley way, students were busy walking out of school, because the bell had just rung.

Like I said, not a smart idea.

"You're really stupid enough to do something like that?" asked Nigel.

I sighed. Not this guy again.

Nigel was a new kid to our high school. It wasn't that his parents were insanely rich like everybody else's. Apparently, he had gotten a scholarship to attend, so that was really the only reason he was there.

Some reason, Nigel was unable of comprehending the way everything worked at our high school. He would constantly criticize me about everything from the people I hung out with, to the way I spoke to the teachers.

He would always tell me: "You can do better."

"You eavesdropped on me? Shouldn't you have been in class?"

"Shouldn't have you?" he countered. "And for the record, I got let out early."

"How great for you," I replied sarcastically.

And then, he said what he always said to me. "You had do better, Alicia. I can see there's a good person somewhere there. Why aren't you capable of showing it?"

I laughed harshly. "Spare me, Nigel."

And with that, I walked away.

When I was that age, I got up to all sorts of stupidity. But during all of it, my parents didn't seem to notice. It was probably because, even though we lived in the same household, I didn't get to see them much of the time.

They just assumed I was still the same girl from elementary school; the one who gets good grades, does what she is told, and never gets in trouble.

Oblivious.

While my grades weren't doing to bad despite my newfound lifestyle, I rarely did what I was told when asked by teachers. And then, they uttered that same sentence Nigel always did.

"_You can do better."_

Still, I paid no mind. I continued living life the way I wanted. By that way, I mean sneaking out of school with my boyfriend Damien so we could go and kiss in some secluded, out of the public eye place.

What can I say about Damien...

If I had a time machine, then I would go back in time and made sure I never met that creep. That would have to be my first priority.

If I said he was not a very nice person, that would be a gross understatement. He treated me like crap. I look back now and wonder how we even ended up dating in the first place. To him, I was nothing but another trophy in his case. He didn't even spend much time with me. It seemed he was more interested in underage drinking and who knows what else.

When I think about it, I shouldn't have been surprised that he didn't ask me to the school dance.

But back then...well...I couldn't see very clearly.

That day, when I waved goodbye to Damien and I headed off to class, I was stopped by Nigel before I could enter the classroom."What?!" I demanded.

"He's using you," he said.

I narrowed my eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Damien," he replied. "I saw him yesterday. He was making out with that blond from Health Class."

I knew that the blond he was referring to was Charlotte. But my pride, and dignity, got the better of me.

"Loser," I muttered, and pushed my way through and in to the class room. Out of the corner of my eye, I could still make out the look on Nigel's face – one of deep concern. The strange thing is, up until this day I can't understand why he even bothered trying to help me see from right or wrong. I had come up with loads of theories over the years, but I have just ended up dubbing them also "illogical" or "incorrect."

Now, let's head back to where we originally were: the school dance. Little did I know, that night was going to be the worse one of my life.

"Oh, I'm sorry? Did I just steal your boyfriend?"

After she uttered that sentence, I lost control. I launched myself at her, trying to claw her face off. The anger...it was so overwhelming. Charlotte, believe it or not, was the closest thing I had to a best friend.

For her to betray me like that...it was shocking.

"Get off of me! Get her away!" screamed Charlotte.

I could no longer lay a finger on her now though, because there was someone holding me back.

_Nigel._

"Calm down, Alicia," I heard him whisper.

I did. But not before calling both Damien and Charlotte a long chain of swear words (there is_no_ chance I'm going to repeat that part, Brown.) and stormed out of the dance.

I can still recall the rage and confusion, the hot tears streaking down my face and the skin under my nails. Alone, I wandered off in aimlessly. All I wanted was to be anywhere…_anywhere _but there.

Now as I have mentioned earlier, my home suburb isn't one of the safest suburbs to have ever existed. At night, the crime rate seemed to be even more active than the day.

So when I heard a loud, unfamiliar noise, you couldn't blame me to be a little bit paranoid. Quickly, I ruffled through my handbag and removed a handgun.

The reason behind why I had a handgun was simple. This was a dangerous suburb. My parents trusted me. Of course, it wasn't legal for me to own one, but even though I didn't spend much time with my parents, they still wanted what was best for me. This included making sure I was safe.

And this is the part that I would have never have believed if it didn't happen to me:

_I got abducted by aliens._

&&&

"You're joking around, right?" I asked.

"Afraid not," Alicia replied monotonously.

"But aliens don't exist!" I protested.

I heard her chuckle softly under her breath. "Has shooting a non-human constructed android taught you nothing?"

I sighed. "But I...I know that was strange, but does that really mean aliens exist? Their could be other explanations. Other very unlikely explanations...but..."

"Oh, they exist," she said in a final sort of tone. "The secret services have known about aliens for years and years. Of course, they're not going to tell the public that."

I sat there, stunned. Outside, the scenery had once again faded – this time in to high rise buildings. And I was left to wonder. Was the branch of the NSA I was in really not a bunch of nut cases after all? Did it really have a true purpose?

Even though I had probably secretly known about aliens for a while now, I still felt unbelievably stunned.

"Now, where was I?" she asked, pleasantly.

&&&

Remind me never to get abducted by aliens again. _Never._

You know how in cartoons the spaceship beams down some magnet wave, making unsuspecting abductees rise up in to the center?

That is exactly what happened to me. I'm not joking.

Of course, I tried to resist. Though no matter how many times I shot at the spaceship, it continued to hover there eerily.

I had to pinch myself, to make sure I was still alive. And when I felt pain in my wrist from the pinch, there was only one thing left for me to say.

"Crap."

Actually, it was something a _lot _worse than that. But like I said before, I'm not repeating it.

Once I entered the space ship, I was immediately poked around by not one, but two species of alien. The first ones were giant bug like creatures. I didn't really like bugs back then, and I still don't now, so you can imagine how I reacted.

The other species looked exactly what also those insane weirdos who had previously been "abducted" had said. The little green men theory? Actually, these ones were gray.

But I was too busy being in a fit of absolute hysteria to care about what color they were.

I stood their shivering and hyperventilating. One of the bug things leaped off it's many legs and snatched by expensive, diamond-incrested handbag right out of my hands.

I gasped and stepped back quickly.

"Get away!" I warned. I tried to sound more brave than I felt, but I don't think it worked very well.

My gun was still in my hand. I pointed it at one of the bug things.

"G-get away," I repeated again, "O-or I'll shoot!"

The off-chance that they understood English wasn't very high, but I tried nonetheless. The bug things and the gray aliens chattered among themselves in their own alien language. Since they didn't appear to be doing anything I had no choice.

I shot the bug alien. All the other aliens jerked back in surprise, but otherwise seemed unphased.

...More alien conversation.

And then, the floor dropped beneath my feet, and I was beamed back down to Earth.

&&&

A word of advice for if you ever get captured my aliens: don't tell anybody. Because chances are, they won't believe you.

That was exactly what happened to me. I ended up in a mental clinic.

Everybody around me thought I was ill. By now, the news of what had happened at the dance had reached my parents. My senseless babbling about aliens mustn't have helped much, either. They did what they thought was best for me, and in a way, I don't blame them. If I had been in their situation, I would have done the exact same thing.

I can't remember how long I stayed in that clinic for. Probably half a year.

Every day was composed of the same routine. It seemed all that ever happened was one a day I would get talked to by some shrink, then I was thrown away back in my padded cell.

But one day, I had a visitor.

It was a man. I didn't know his exact age, but he didn't seem very old. The way that he dressed was very professional.

I remember thinking to myself, "Who dresses in a suit when they go to a mental clinic?"

"Tell me what happened that night."

As soon as I heard him say that, I suppressed a sigh. It seemed as if it was just another shrink, wanting to analyze me. However, having nothing to lose, I poured my heart out about my alien encounter. I had all the time in the world, so I gave him the exact descriptions of the aliens.

"I'm not crazy," I told him quietly, once I had finished. "If I hadn't seen it, I would think I was crazy. But what I saw....it was real."

The man smiled a kind, trusting smile. And when I looked in his eyes, trying to find hints of pity, I couldn't find any.

"I don't doubt you, Miss June," he replied. "My name is Agent Myers, and I'm from Alien Investigations branch of the NSA."

&&&

We both sat their in silence for about half a minute.

"What happened then?" I asked. At that moment, I felt unable to portray any emotion in to my voice. I just couldn't help it. What

I was being told was possibly the most unbelievable thing I could imagine.

"He asked me to join the NSA."

"You accepted?"

The car stopped at a set of traffic lights.

Alicia shrugged. "What else could I have done?" she asked. "I had lost it all. Joining the NSA was the only chance I had of a future. That was six years ago. And now..."

"But even if all that did really happen..." I began, "…then what does it have to do with what we're doing now?"

Alicia smiled sadly – something I had never seen her do with all my time working with her.

"I've known Myers for six years. He would never, ever do anything to hurt any of his agents....Before I cut off contact with him, we had a conversation over the phone. He yelled at me, and said he'll kill me if I didn't find the information he needed, and fast."

I blinked. "I...I always thought he was a strict sort of person."

"No..." she muttered, "what he did...it wasn't him. And there is a nagging voice in the back of my head, telling me that something more sinister is in the works behind it all. I suspect aliens. Maybe not the aliens that abducted me, but a different type."

The traffic light turned green, and the car turned the corner. And up ahead, I saw what was coming.

"The airport?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry, Spencer," she whispered.

"Sorry for what? What are you talking about?!"

"I no longer feel that we are safe here. I've got everything we need – counterfeit documents, the lot. We're leaving this country, and going somewhere where we blend in. Somewhere where nobody would know our faces."

"But...my family!" I protested, "I need to see them again...I need to..."

"One day," she replied quietly, "one day when this is all over."

I could hear by the way she spoke and the look in her eye that she knew a lot more than what she was letting on. There was no going back.

_Defeated, I sat back and waited._


	36. The Camel's Back

**A/N: And...It's here at last. For the fiftieth time, I'm sorry about how slow I was getting this chapter up. I had to multi-task it with writing the next chapter of Visser Humiliation Club (Which is almost done, by the way) and just everyday, general life. Don't hate me please!**

**It gives me much sadness to say that this is the second-last chapter, and the next chapter is going to be rather short. I've found a way to wrap everything up as effectively as possible. Also, after this, I'm going to start on many new projects writing-wise, as well as complete some I have already started on.**

**I'll be likely to post an author's after-word after I've submitted the last chapter, thanking everybody who has helped me along to write this story. But in advance, thank you so much everybody! **

**Credit:**

**Mimi-dudette and beta-reading awesomeness. Seriously, I would be lost without her and her sentence-correcting ways.**

_Chapter 36 – The Camel's Back_

"_Chee-Shanos, it's been a very long time."_

Have you ever been left in one of those moments that seem to stretch on for miles on end? Well, this was one of them.

I had seriously not expected Lena to say that. And by the look on Erek's face, neither did he.

What did this all mean? I didn't have a clue. Lena knew Erek...somehow. I mean, besides from being his..._date _to the dance. But Erek didn't appear to know Lena to any further extent.

And Lena could use magic! Or, what appeared to be magic anyway. She could have been a witch. But no modern day witch could use magic like that. If she was like me, a magic user...no. She couldn't be. I was told I was alone in this world.

"Do I know you?" It was Erek who broke the unnerving long silence.

Lena rose the corners of her lips slightly – in what might have been a smile – and said,"Once."

Erek narrowed his eyes. "Once?"

"Who are you?!" I demanded, though secretly scared beyond wit's end, "How can you use magic?"It wasn't possible...it couldn't be possible...

"You're searching for a lot of answers, Tedahko." She then chuckled quietly, "Tedahko. Have you got any idea what that name means?"

"No," I admitted. I had always thought it was Japanese-Javanese.

And annoyingly enough, even though she appeared to know what my name meant, she didn't drag the topic any further. "We have a lot to talk about," she said.

"Then, start talking."

"Your people before you were less stubborn," she muttered. Her expression gave no clue to what she meant by that. What I had noticed with Lena was that she could somehow keep her face entirely blank. I wouldn't want to verse her in poker.

"Tomorrow is a Saturday," she turned towards Erek. "I'll come by your house at 9:00. Both of you, be ready." And then, she began walking off in to the darkness of the park.

Surprisingly, Erek didn't protest. He just stood there, looking a bit dumbstruck.

"Are you okay, there?" I asked concernedly.

"Yeah..." he murmured, looking lost in thought. I knew how he felt. "You know as much about this as I do, don't you?"

"Afraid so," I sighed. We both turned around and began the long walk home.

"I'm scared," I admitted, as we walked down the dark street in the middle of the night.

Erek smirked. "Because it's dark out?"

"Don't be an idiot, Erek," I shot back. "There's just…something that doesn't seem right about her."

"Humans are always scared of what they don't know," he quoted.

"But you're scared too," I pointed out.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Okay, so maybe I am a little," he confessed, "But she knows my name. I'm an android. Since she said my Chee name, I've been reviewing all my encounters with humans from the period of time I've been on Earth."

"And you can do that?"

"Yup. So far, I'm only up to two thousand years ago. But so far, it's come up blank. I've never met her before."

I frowned. "What makes you think she was around that long ago?"

"She said 'once', didn't she?"

"Well, yeah," I said, "But Lena is a strange, spooky person. Who knows what she meant by that."

"I guess so," Erek muttered, and he] looked on ahead, lost amidst his own thoughts.

I hated not knowing what was really happening. There was this feeling I got about Lena...I don't know. Even if she was a magic user, there was something about her that just wasn't normal. I mean, _especially _not normal.

Erek was right. Humans are afraid of what they don't know about. At the end of the day, I was still human – more or less. I could feel the earth shifting beneath my feet, but was left at loss to why it was shifting.

But whatever the reason, my questions would be answered tomorrow.

&&&

Despite having my mind dwell on a lot that night, I surprisingly didn't sleep too bad. But when I stumbled in to the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and stretching, I realized my mood was short-lived.

At the kitchen table, sat Marco and a strangely pretty looking boy, who I could have sworn I had seen before. Oh well, I guess I can't remember everything.

"Nice pajamas," remarked Marco.

I frowned, trying not too feel so subconscious about my blue tank top and mid-length black pajama pants.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Marco shrugged. "You know me. Just chillin', being awesome. All that kind of stuff."

The boy next to Marco, whom I still was having an odd feel of deja vu about, continued to stuff his face full of cookies.

"Who's he?"

Marco stared at me, as if he couldn't really believe what I was saying. He gaped at my question.

The boy finished swallowing a mouthful of cookies and acknowledged me disdainfully in one particular word which I hadn't heard for a while.

"_Nishkak."_

Oh yeah. The blue-alien-centaur thing. I had forgot he could turn in to a human. My bad.

"Good morning, everyone," Erek greeted us, as he entered the kitchen.

"Yo Erek," Marco said, "What's up, man?"

"Nothing much. You two ready?"

"Are they ready for what?" I butted in. I didn't mean to sound rude or anything. But honestly, I had no idea what was going on.

"We're going to be the magical roaches that will be sitting in the corner of the room just in case your friend Lena turns out to be a controller," Marco explained. His eyes darkened. "Or worse."

For a moment, I felt angry. I hadn't really wanted anybody else to become know about this. My people, my past...they were mine. By Erek telling them...I don't know. I suppose I felt a bit betrayed.

But it wasn't his fault. He was only doing what he thought was right. If things did turn sour with Lena today (which there was quite a good possibility that it would) then I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take her.

I hadn't said anything to Erek earlier, but when we were at the park the night before...I could feel this sort of energy illuminating off Lena. That might sound a bit strange, but I can't describe it in any other way. Even if she was what I was, she was different.

Somehow.

"Couldn't get anybody else to tag along?" I asked innocently, trying to hide my bemusement. It didn't work.

"It's 8:30 on a Saturday morning," Marco pointed out. "Everyone else is asleep thanks to our big mission last night, and Tobias couldn't come because he's catching breakfast."

"Then why aren't you still asleep?"

Marco looked rather miserable. "Jake and I did rock-paper-scissors. I bet you can guess what the outcome was."

"Guys, can we focus a bit here?" Erek asked, "Somebody we don't know, and certainly don't trust, is going to here in half an hour."

"Ggrgrgfgfgfg," commented Ax. We all stared at him.

"Cookies," Ax said simply. "Cooo-kies. Co-kiiiiie-zah."

"Uh huh," Marco said. It looked as if this was an everyday occurrence for him. "Tedahko, unless you want Lena the Witch Girl see you in your pajamas, you should probably get changed."

I frowned, "Fine, I'm going. Sheesh."

I walked out of the room, and to the bathroom. Strangely enough, my toothpaste was missing. In some ways, I wasn't overly surprised. When you live in a household with two androids, then things tend to go missing or get misplaced a lot. I decided to go back to the kitchen and ask Erek. Surely, with a memory like his, he _should _be able to recall whatever happened to my toothpaste.

Just as I was about to re-enter the kitchen, I stopped to the sound of talking. Normally, I would try to stay right clear of eavesdropping. But there was something about the tone of their voices, how they had waited until I was gone to speak, that really pulled me in. Something wasn't right here.

"Tell Cassie I don't want it," Erek said "Chuck it back in to the ocean... How...how did she even get it in the first place?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, man," Marco replied. "Rachel seems to have recalled Tedahko saying she found it on the beach. But the odds for her to actually come across it..."

_Come across what? _I wondered to myself, feeling a bit confused. The only thing I had found on the beach was seashells and my awesome crystal which I made unto a necklace. No idea where the crystal went, though. I think I've lost it.

"You have no idea what it felt like," Erek muttered, "The whole time, I was conscious. I could have reached it...I could have..."

"It is not about what could have been, Erek," Ax spoke up for the first time. "There is no way to repair what has been done now."

It was needless to say I had no idea what they were talking about. But at that moment, I did what my gut instinct told me to do – I turned and walked away, pretending I had heard nothing. There must have been a reason why I wasn't included in that conversation.

But what was that reason?

&&&

Once I had gotten changed (and finally found my toothpaste. It was in my sock draw [of] all places...), it wasn't long before the doorbell rang.

Erek and I stood there, staring intensely at the door.

"Here," I muttered under my breath. The answers my past might be behind that door...

"Are you going to open it?" Erek asked me.

I shrugged. "Nope, you?"

Erek sighed and opened the door.

Sure enough, there stood Lena. One of the first things you notice about Lena is her ability to make everyday clothes (a black and white striped T-shirt and a pair of jeans, in this case) look like it was being placed on a catwalk. She looked exactly like one of those models you see on TV or in magazines.

"I see you're ready," she said simply, and walked on in.

I was too nervous to say anything, so I stood there trying not to faint, or do anything else that would have the potential to embarrass the heck out of me.

She held up a plate full of cupcakes, before walking in to the kitchen and placing the plate on the table. Erek and I followed, not really sure of what else to do.

"I wouldn't be much of a guest if I didn't bring any food," she remarked with a dim smile.

Believe me Lena, I think the only person that would go near those cupcakes were Ax. They were probably poisoned.

"Can we get to the point?" I spoke up quietly. Both Erek and Lena looked at me.

"Very well," Lena said.

She turned towards Erek. "Remember who I am yet, Chee-Shanos?"

"No," Erek admitted.

And then, Lena walked over, so she stood face to face with Erek. "I still owe you that game," she whispered.

Erek's eyes widened with realization. Something had hit close to home.

Chee-Shanos looked on at the creature curiously. The one that was so different, in looks and behavior – an alien.

Not that Chee-Shanos had anything against aliens. If the creature was good at playing games, then that was really all that mattered.

The two stood in a large meadow in the Pemalite home planet. They stood at a stalemate, each waiting for the other to break the silence.

There had been a lot of visitors lately. Trading of information and technology had begun to become popular among the Pemalites, so there wasn't really a time when their planet wasn't temporarily occupied by visitors.

Chee-Shanos wasn't so much interested in the purpose of the latest creature's visit. He just wanted to know if they liked to play.

"You are an android," remarked the creature.

"My name is Chee-Shanos," said Chee-Shanos happily, "What's yours?"

The creature was silent for a moment, as if considering what the android had just said.

"Lenacszh."

"Want to play a game?"

Lenacszh hesitated. But their mind was soon set, after their own people waved to them in the distance. Casting one last look at the Chee, the _stranger, _she walked off to join her own people.

Later, Chee-Shanos had asked his Pemalite master what creature he met on that day. Since then, he had never really thought much more about their meeting, and what it had meant.

"Sayanik Mekur," Erek muttered. It was near impossible to tell what he was thinking. His face had become blank all of a sudden, like the surface of an etch-o-sketch wiped clean.

Lena grinned and pulled back. "It was simplified two-thousand years ago to just "Mekur"," she added.

"Erek...?" I asked slowly.

"Tedahko, remember how I told you that when the Chee first came to Earth, they grafted the essence of Pemalites in to wolfs to form dogs?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"The Pemalites, _my people, _often traded technology and information with other races. The technology we used to graph the essence of the Pemalites in to wolves was...well," he gestured to Lena, "You work it out."

Lena. Sayanik Mekur. Technology.

Lena was...an alien!? But, did that mean I was the same as her?

"You and I, we are not the same," she said, as if she heard my question. I jerked back from surprise, hoping that she didn't just read my mind. It could have been a coincidence, but I wasn't sure.

Lena pulled up a kitchen chair and sat down. "May as well sit down. We have a lot to talk about."

We both did as we were told.

"Five-thousand years ago, the planet of my people was attacked by a race."

There was something in Erek's eyes that darkened when she said that.

Lena looked at Erek. "The same that attacked your people, I believe. News travels fast across the universe."

Erek remained silent. Lena took it as a sign to continue.

"Like your people, we also stumbled upon planet Earth. We were afraid that our]true forms would look out of place on the Earth, thus causing disruption. To be quite blunt, we abducted humans. We abducted them, cloned them, and inserted our own full essences, our very mind, conscious, and soul, in to the body of those creatures."

I felt a cold chill go up my spine.

"But with inserting our full essences, there also became complications." She smiled dully. "You may have noticed I can't show much emotion. There is a reason behind this. Our essence was too strong, too different, to be merged perfectly with a human's body. Still possible, mind you. But when we merged the essences, there were side effects. The use of our natural abilities, powers you may call them, was cut. Along with this, my race also discovered that we were unable to use the human bodies to show any major emotion. I feel all the same things normal humans do: happiness, sadness. Yet I can't express it."

Well, that would explain why she was so spooky.

"How old are you?" I asked.

Lena grinned. "14," she answered. "But with my species, essence is our center. Our essences are passed down by blood. I have lived on this Earth before, in the form of my great grandmother. And...continuing the trend as far back as I can remember."

...and everything had just gotten a whole lot more spookier.

"How long ago was that?""Roughly 14, 000 years ago, I believe."

Erek snapped out of his quiet state. "But what does this have to do with us?"

"Good question," she answered, before turning towards me. "Tedahko, I wish I had some answers on who and what you are for you, but I don't. Whoever your people were, they were on this planet long before us."

It was then that any hope I had of finding out the past of my people shattered. And only now did I realize there was no way of knowing. Everything had been lost in time.

"What about unicorns, trolls and fairies? Do you know anything about them?"Lena then began laughing – surprisingly hard for an alien who could supposedly not express emotion.

"Those creatures were from stories my people told to humans to distract them from what was really hiding on their planet – us."

And any other leads I had to my people had just been smashed. This wasn't turning out to be a good day...

"Can I have a word alone to Tedahko for a moment?" Lena asked Erek. Erek looked unsure.

"I'll be fine," I reassured him.

Erek nodded. He then clicked once with his left hand. Lena didn't seem to notice, but I did. As he walked out of the kitchen, he was followed by two cockroaches. Must have been a signal.

"First of all," said Lena, "there is no such thing as prophecy. Behind everything, there is a divine being at work. Second of all," she smirked lightly, "Like any other human, you'll only live once."

Cheery Lena, real cheery. Was that meant to make me feel better?

"There's really not much more I can say than that. However, I feel as if I should advise you to be careful."

I frowned. "Is there a particular reason why?" I asked.

This time, she didn't smile me dimly or doing anything similar. The look on her face was as confusing as her very so-called "personality."

"The straw broke the camel's back," she murmured to me, "though the load may have been lifted to give the camel a rest, the load had still damaged the back. Be prepared for the camel's back to break.

I pondered this for a moment, but found myself unable to lock on to whatever the heck she meant by it. While most likely unknown to Lena, metaphorical quotes, or whatever on Earth that was, aren't the best thing to use on me. I just end up getting confused.

"I should be on my way."I still had a billion more questions I wanted to ask her, but I knew the answer would have been the same. Lost in time. There was no way of telling who I was, who my people were, why everything that happened had happened. If I couldn't have changed anything anyway, then what was the point in finding out the unknown?

As she got up and left, I said nothing. There was nothing more I could say.

&&&

As I sat at my desk, finishing off the homework I was interrupted from the previous night, my mind was wandering. I had been trying to get used to the fact that I might ever know why everything had happened, but it wasn't so easy. Amidst some of my memories, there was one that stood out particularly at that moment. I'm not sure what about it that made me recall it. I just...did.

It must had been from years and years ago. My mother and I was watching TV, and a news report had just been on, about the lady who was murdered by her boyfriend.

Mom then looked at me seriously and said, "Promise me you'll never marry an Axe-murderer, okay Tedahko?"

I laughed and dismissed it, saying that I would never do something so stupid.

It was nothing more than a hallucination, a naïve daydream that I wanted so desperately to be real. And when I woke up, it had all gone.

I slammed my fist on my desk. My heart was pounding, and my face was covered in sweat.

_It was done. I can't do anything about it. _Then why was I still so frustrated?

How was I meant to do my homework, when my head was a jumbled mess?

T

he daydream. My parents. My people. Lena. That strange quote about the camel...

What could she have meant by that, anyway? There was no camel, and there never was.

Or not from where I was sitting, anyway.

"Tedahko, are you okay in there?" asked a worried voice from corridor.

I wiped the sweat off my face using the edge of my T-Shirt, and then slumped further in the chair.

"Fine," I lied. But he mustn't have bought it. Erek opened the door to my room, walking in. He closed the door quietly then stared hard at me.

"You've been quiet ever since Lena left," he remarked, and came to stand near me by my desk.

I shrugged, "In case you haven't noticed, the whole thing didn't go over too well. And then she started jabbering about camels..."

"I noticed," He muttered, before looking confused. "...Camels?"

I waved my had dismissively. "Never mind."

He stared on at me with concern. And as much as I appreciate his concern, I just wanted to be alone. Maybe in a few days time,

after I had finished soaking in my own melancholy, I would just stop caring and start anew – like I had many times before.

He stood by my side, and ever though I couldn't see where he was looking, I knew it was at me.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I guess I've just once again realized how screwed everything is."

I felt a hand gently being laid on my shoulder. I didn't shrug it off, or reject the comfort that was being offered. I remained passive, and just sat there. Thinking.

"But no matter how screwed, I'll still be here," he said.

I stood up off my chair and turned to face him. Even now, he still looked as human as ever to me. Gone were the days where I felt embarrassed, maybe even intimidated by the fact I may like a android.

"Would you hate me if I lived for once?"

Erek looked confused, as if he didn't understand quiet what I was getting at. He answered anyway. "No! Of course not."

"Good..." I murmured

And Anne, wherever you are, I swear on my life this is what really happened.

Because at that moment, I stopped wondering about what could have been and what is, the past, present and future, and all those stupid concepts I could have never grasped.

I leaned forward and kissed him.

And unexpectedly, as he slung his arms around my back and pulled me in, he kissed me back.

"_And please, please, remember that it's never about what is wrong or right_ ."

In a way, it was because of them that I didn't care anymore. Both Anne, and even Lena in the short time I had known her, had opened my eyes.

After all, I'm only going to live once.

...and I was making the most of it.

When we pulled back, Erek's face had turned a bright shade of red. I didn't laugh, because my face probably looked the exact same. I waited a few excruciating seconds, for him to say something. _Anything._

He smiled at me. But then, once more, his eyes darkened.

"I don't regret it," he said. He continued to stand there. The more he stood, the more nervous I grew. "Tedahko," he sighed, "there's something I need to tell you."

And only once he had told me, did I finally understand what Lena had meant by the _camel's back._


	37. Anne's Theory

**Chapter 37 – Anne's Theory**

**5 years later...**

The college students sat impatiently in the lecture hall, pretending to listen to what the professor was actually saying. However, this task proved impossible for them, so they resorted to time-passers such as texting or restlessly tapping their pencil on whatever hard surface they could find.

Not that they could really be blamed. The professor had a tendency to make anything he talked about boring. But even so, things could be worse. At least they were stuck in Psychology and not Z-Space Physics. If it was bad enough listening to the Professor ramble on, then it would be worse listening to an Andalite Professor.

Once the lecture was finally over, the students filed out in a disorderly manner – meaning they all rushed through the door at the same time.

One student was particularly relieved by the end of the lecture. She was now off for the day, as all her classes had finished. When she took a left exit out of the main building, she stopped in her tracks as she heard the familiar voice of her professor.

"Miss Everest, wait up!"

The student sighed to herself and turned around to greet the professor.

"You forgot your book." The professor handed the book back to the student.

Embarrassingly enough, the book was titled "Psychology for Dummies."

Sometimes she had to wonder why she was even in this class. She had may as well picked random subjects to study at college. Unfortunately for her, there was a long, _long _list of career paths she knew she would never succeed in. This included cooking, anything athletic, doctor, police officer, astrologist (strangely enough) and many more. Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder why she just didn't follow the advice of her old drama teacher and become an actor.

"Thanks," she muttered quietly, as she took the book.

"No problem," replied the professor. He then looked at her seriously. "Now, about your essay on Stockholm Syndrome..."

She had been dreading this. When she had written that essay, it was 3:00am and she had no cup of coffee by her side. Obviously, the result wasn't Shakespeare standard.

The professor smiled. "I must say, it was certainly an improvement from your last essay."

She blinked. "Sorry?"

"Honesty, I would have never have thought to give Animorph's infamous acquaintance Taylor as an example."

She felt a pang of guilt. Using that example wasn't something she had wanted to do. Back then, she hadn't known about what Taylor had done to Tobias. Only recently, when the truth started to come out written in certain novels by the Animorphs, did she find out.

It felt so immoral to her. She had been one of the people to have actually known the Animorphs before the war was made known. But Tobias of all people...given their relation...it was betrayal. That was the only definition.

But the essay had been the last straw. If she got another fail, she would have been in hot water.

"Thank you..." she muttered quietly, not really believing that she deserved such praise. Without giving the professor another second to say more, she quietly said goodbye and walked away to a free afternoon.

&&&

She returned home to her apartment in that afternoon to her best friend/boyfriend of five years sitting on the couch and watching TV. Which was typical, to say the least. Everybody in his family had some obsession with TVs.

Not that it really bothered her.

"I'm back."

She leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek, then went to sit beside him on the couch.

He grinned. "How was class?"

She frowned. "Boring. Could have been better. How was your day off?"

His grin disappeared. He motioned to the TV.

_That_ article was on again.

She sighed and massaged her temple. "They're still...?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

Normally, she would be careful where she treaded regarding this topic. Ever since Jake had blackmailed him roughly three years ago, Erek had tried to ignore anything in the media Animorphs-related. But Tedahko, of all people, knew that this wasn't true. Even after what Jake had done, Erek would still be concerned for him and the others.

But lately, his concern had become more clear. If there was no explanation for his concern, then that

would have been unusual. But there was.

About a month earlier, Jake, and Marco had disappeared in to thin air. There was no reason as to why or how. They were just...gone. Naturally, there was a big media hype about this. Now, the only Animorph with a location that could be confirmed was Cassie.

Rachel had died in the final battle on the Blade Ship. Tobias disappeared soon after her death. Ax's ship had been supposedly captured. And now Jake and Marco were...god knows where.

When Tedahko was constantly reminded about this in any way, shape, or form, she felt herself converting back to her insecure, childish self. The element of shock, that people she had once known might now be dead, continued to get to her and made her want to cry.

It hadn't been this bad since her parents had died almost six years ago.

It didn't take long for Erek to notice that she was upset, and he gently took her hand in his own and gave it a squeeze.

She sniffled, and used her opposite hand to wipe the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

"I know...I know..." she said, "I shouldn't be crying. They're going to come back. We'll just wait a few months, and I'm sure they'll be fine."

When she looked at Erek, she saw a glum smile and the uncertainty on his face. And secretly, she knew just as much as he did that there was a very slim chance that either would ever see them again.

All of a sudden, Erek asked abruptly, "Why do you smell like orange fizz?"

Tedahko removed her hand from Erek's, and looked down at her T-Shirt.

"Ugh," she commented, "I forgot about that. Earlier this morning, I got drenched in orange fizz."

"...Why?" asked Erek slowly.

"It's a prank the sophomores enjoy playing on the freshman. You haven't been drenched yet?"

"Nup," Erek replied smugly, "Guess I'm just lucky."

Tedahko stuck out her tongue at him and got up off the couch.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower. Unless I want to smell like orange fizz for the rest of the day." And with that, she strolled off.

Erek turned off the TV, and sat there in silence.

It had been many years now, since he and her had kissed. He deeply cared about her. He did back then, and he still did now. But Erek knew that he couldn't keep such a sin from Tedahko, if they were going to be together.

He told her about the night – the one where he slaughtered the controllers. Even now, he could still recall the fear that flashed in her eyes, when she found out that her best friend was a murderer. She ran off. That time, she was gone for a month. Erek had some idea of where she might have been – Cassie's perhaps, or maybe with Tobias. Either way, he didn't dare pursue her. He was in deserving of it, and all he could do was sit back and watch the consequences that were wreaked.

Eventually, she came back. She told him that she could never forgive him. But, _but..._while she hated what he had done, she said that she didn't hate him.

Things were never the same between them again, with neither their friendship nor relationship.

Tedahko had chosen to still be with Erek, but simply for the fact that they cared about each other. Both of them were aware of the hollow gap, the missing piece that was once there.

However most days, they pretended that gap didn't exist.

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Erek sighed, hoping it wasn't another door-to-door salesmen. There had been quite a few around lately, most of them trying to sell off cheap, poorly made toy Escafil Devices.

But when he opened the door, he realized that he was in fact mistaken.

"Hello, stranger."

Standing before him was a woman, perhaps in her mid twenties. She had long, blond hair, pale skin and green eyes. Her accent was very peculiar, as if it was a hybrid of many different accents. Her clothing was very laid-back and casual.

"Anne."

Anne smiled, "Haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"

"Not too bad," Erek replied, "You after Tedahko?"

Anne shook her head. "Nope. A matter of fact, I was actually looking for you."

Erek looked at Anne with puzzlement. "Really, what for?"

"Feel like going for a walk?"

&&&

Erek and Anne walked side by side through what had once been a town, but had long since grown into a towering city since the war had ended.

"So how have you been?" Erek asked.

"Good, good. Not sure if Tedahko has told you this yet, but Trevor proposed to me the other day – with a cinnamon bun."

She hadn't.

"Did you say yes?"

Anne laughed, "Well, obviously. I love him. Though, I'm not sure how I'd be able to wear a cinnamon bun on my finger. I don't think Trev is up with the Earth Traditions."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

About nine or so months ago, Tedahko and Anne ran in to each other while walking through a busy street in the city. The odds were amazing, considering how the population of Santa Barbara had boomed dramatically. At first, Tedahko had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't as it turned out, Anne was as real as the very air Tedahko was breathing.

Later, Anne went on to explain what happened after her contract with the Ellimist had ended those many years ago. She had awoken somewhere in the countryside, having no idea where she was. The thought of such a thing would have been quiet daunting, but Anne was personally just glad she was alive. She wandered around stretching planes and paddocks for awhile, and eventually came across a dirt road.

As luck would have it, a car made its way down the road, heading towards her. Anne waved it over. She wasn't one to hitchhike, but it didn't look like she had much of a choice.

Well, the car pulled over, and the window rolled down. Only problem was, the driver didn't speak English. In fact, Anne was pretty sure he was speaking French. Even though her marks in French at school had been far from perfect, she was able to distinguish it from Spanish or Italian.

The driver looked very confused. What would an English speaker being doing all the way out here in the countryside? But still, the man motioned for her to get in the vehicle and they set off together.

Eventually, they came to a city. There was no Eiffel Tower in sight, so Anne had to presume she wasn't in Paris. There was really no way to tell if she was even in France. She could have been in French-speaking Switzerland as far as she knew. The only clue to wherever they were was a sign that read in French,

"Bienvenue à Lille."

The man parked the car on a main road, and the two of them walked up a side street, all the while sharing an awkward silence. The side street was full of old houses and small cafes, and shared a shocking resemblance to something that would have been seen on a post card.

The man and Anne entered a small bakery. The woman at the counter had dark, curly hair and brown

eyes. Her and the man exchanged a few words. The woman nodded. She then turned to Anne.

And you could imagine Anne's relief when she spoke English. Even though it was only a little, at least she was finally getting somewhere.

She explained that her English wasn't very good, but explained that one of the staff could speak fluent English. She called out to the back, and out came a man with messy dark hair.

Only, she recognized him, and as it turned out, he recognized her in return.

"Anne?"

That had only been the short version of the story. When Anne was explaining it to Tedahko, she explained it in rich details excitedly, a dreamy smile on her face. Anne had said to Tedahko that she had apparently never believed in in miracles, but her fate had been restored.

"You're not just here to chat, are you?" Erek asked.

Anne looked alarmed for a second, but then smiled softly. "Very observant."

"Why are you really here?"

She sighed, and looked off into the distance. "I have a theory," she stated, "hear me out?"

"It's not like we have anything better to do."

Anne closed her eyes for a moment, and if she was trying to recall something. She then opened her eyes and began speaking.

"Ever since I was revived, I've been having this dream...the same one each time. At first I didn't think it meant anything. Just another piece of junk my head made up. But given what I saw..."

"What did you see?"

"The war," Anne said quietly, "I saw the end of the war. The exact moment that Rachel died...who was blackmailed, who was blamed..."

If Erek was human and had a spine, he would have felt a chill go up it.

"Did Tedahko tell you?"

It was the only possible way she could have known. Nobody else but the Animorphs, Tedahko, and Erek himself knew about what Jake did to Erek. Anne shook her head. "No. I'm telling the truth. But it was what I saw after...I saw you, Erek. You looked older. A little bit older than the Erek I had seen on the blade ship. I saw you talking to an old man. Well, not really an old man..."

"Ellimist."

"Yes."

The two now stood on the steps of a large building. A library or a town hall, maybe. Whatever it was, judging by the exquisite architecture of the building, it was without a doubt important. The two faced each other, taking no notice of the people that walked passed. This city had become just like New York, where nobody as so much cared and just walked on.

"You were angry," she continued on, "You asked him why he had damned the Earth."

Erek laughed sardonically, "That would be right."

"But then you asked him, _'__What now? Rachel is dead. Tobias is missing. The others are all famous. I'm still here. So where are we now?'_."

Anne looked Erek straight in the eyes. For a moment, he felt intimidated that she knew what he really was, and how she could see so easily past his disguise. The sounds of the city, the talking people, the noisy traffic was all droned out.

"He offered to repay you," she said, "You asked him how he could possibly do that. Everything was already lost. Nothing was going to be changed... and then he said..."

She sighed, "he said nothing. I saw the lips of his form move, but nothing came out. And at every time, that's always when I wake up."

The two were silent for a moment. Erek broke that silence.

"Did I appear younger than I am now? When I was with the Ellimist, I mean."

"I think so," Anne recalled. "It's difficult to tell, but I'm pretty sure."

It was a lot to take in for Erek. Here they were, Anne talking about some strange dream and himself listening. He knew Anne wouldn't lie about what she saw, but it didn't mean that he was obliged to see anything in the dream himself.

As far as he was concerned, what Anne had seen was just fiction. After all, Erek hadn't seen the Ellimist in years and years. Five and a half, six at the most. What Anne saw couldn't have possibly been real. The conversation she spoke of had never happened.

"So," Erek said, "What does this all mean?"

Anne shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine, really. But there was one thing I noticed." Her eyes darkened. "Not once in this dream did I see Tedahko."

Erek froze. "That doesn't mean anything.."

"Are you sure?" Anne asked. "Think about it Erek. If Tedahko is here now, but wasn't in this suspicious dream of mine, what do you think it means?"

"Why don't you ask the dream that..." Erek muttered.

Anne stared intensely at Erek, prompting him to speak.

Something dawned on him. "What the Ellimist was talking about...the..."

"Repayment," Anne finished off.

At last they were both thinking the same thing.

"Tedahko was the repayment...?" he shook his head. "No. He wouldn't do that. Why would he even bother altering the whole time line?"

"Oh, he would," Anne said, sounding very sure in herself, "I hung around with the old guy for a while. I know the crazy stuff he's into."

"But doing that is practically against everything he stands for," Erek pointed out. "Using a life for repayment. It's wrong. It's immoral. He'd never do it."

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't bring himself to believe in the possibility.

"Maybe..." Anne muttered, "but in case you haven't noticed, the lines between right and wrong have become increasingly blurred."

They both went silent once more. To passers by, they would have been no more than two people, staring at each other with blank expressions that couldn't be decoded, as strange remainder of finality seemed to drift through the air around them.

"_So here's how it is," Anne concluded, "Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. Either way, I guess we'll never know for sure. Even now, there's a lot things that don't make sense...But it has to makes you wonder, huh?"_

_Erek laughed bitterly, "Yes," he agreed, "It certainly does."_

**END**

*******

_**  
Author's after word:**_

_**Wow. I'm really done. Honestly, it seems like yesterday that I begun writing this story. Though really, it has taken about 16 months to complete. Woah...**_

_**First of all, I would like to thank my two awesome and dedicated beta-readers, Tsaukpaetra and Mimi-dudette. Both of them have done a splendid job, and without them my work would have been a jumble of spelling and grammatical errors. Thank you so much!!!**_

_**Also, I would like to thank all my reviewers for all their support and advice. Considering how long ago I started this story, I was actually a little surprised that I still have reviewers after all this time.**_

_**Lastly, I would like to thank the readers. Reviewing is a personal choice, so even if you didn't review I hope you had as much fun reading this story as I did writing it.**_

_**Heh, well that's enough of my sappy acceptance speech already.**_

_**Well everybody, looks like the stories over. But don't worry, I'll still be working on the Visser Humiliation Club, and hopefully I'll even get to finish a few of my old abandoned fics.**_

_**But sadly, I've got another announcement. Though I am going to try to do as much writing and submitting to FF next year as possible, I'm afraid I won't be doing as nearly as much as I used to. You see, I've actually be granted a scholarship to study abroad for a year. Considering I'll be overseas for a year, this may make it difficult for me to update stories regularly.**_

_**  
But don't worry, I'll still pop in every now and again.**_

_**Again, thank you everybody! **_

_**-Riza-san**_


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